Alfa Romeo revives Giulietta spirit with new hatchback

JAKARTA (ANTARA) - Alfa Romeo has decided to reintroduce traditional low-slung hatchbacks as part of its roadmap until 2030. Stellantis, the parent company, confirmed via a press release on its official website on May 25 that the hatchback will use the multi-energy STLA ONE platform and feature advanced technology and efficiency across all drivetrain systems. Autoevolution reported on May 26 that STLA One is a highly flexible new architecture capable of supporting subcompact, compact, and mid-size vehicles, or segments B, C, and D. The platform is expected to be used from next year (2027) and will be a key part of Alfa Romeo’s future portfolio. However, the platform will not be exclusive to Alfa Romeo, as other Stellantis brands will also adopt it. STLA One is not only flexible in vehicle size but also in drivetrain options, supporting configurations from conventional internal combustion engines to electrified and fully electric powertrains. Therefore, the new hatchback will likely offer multiple powertrain options, with details remaining confidential. The same applies to its design, technology, and other aspects. The last compact hatchback from Alfa Romeo was the Giulietta, produced between 2010 and 2020 at the Piedimonte San Germano plant in Lazio, Italy, with nearly 500,000 units manufactured. The Giulietta was built on the Fiat Compact architecture, sharing components with the Dodge Dart, which used the Compact Wide platform. The now-discontinued Chrysler 200, along with the current Pacifica and Voyager models, use the Compact Wide LWB variant. Meanwhile, the older Jeep Cherokee and Grand Commander were built on the Compact Wide LWB 4x4 platform. The Giulietta was available with various petrol engines and two diesel options. The same formula was used in its predecessor, the Alfa Romeo 147, produced at the Pomigliano d’Arco facility from 2000 to 2010. The 147 GTA hot hatch even featured a V6 engine producing 250 metric horsepower. It will be interesting to see if Alfa Romeo reintroduces a hot hatch in the future, though any such model would certainly not feature a V6 engine.