Photo: Instagram | Kelsonik
Sure, it hasn’t been that exciting as it used to be a few years ago, but then again, this applies to all major international auto shows. That’s because most automakers are not interested in blowing a huge amount of money just to have several rides on display for a few days, as they could get a lot more reach by taking to the World Wide Web, and for far less money. Thus, the automotive shows as we know them are slowly but steadily dying.
Mind you, we haven’t gathered here to talk about auto shows as a whole, not the big premieres unveiled in France’s capital city, but to put the spotlight on a single one: the Alfa Romeo Cuorerosso. Surely I cannot be the only one who thinks that this thing looks very good, right? Actually, that would be a no, because the study has been praised by petrolheads of all ages ever since it broke cover in Paris at the beginning of the week.
So much so that it has also ended up in the hands of rendering artists, or a small chunk of the pixel-altering crowd to be more precise, becoming something else, while retaining its cool DNA. One of our latest encounters with such a thing came from @kelsonik on Instagram, who dropped the digital illustrations shared in our image gallery a few days ago. These imagine the cool-looking concept as a station wagon, and the CGI manipulator refers to the project as the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sportwagon.
Photo: Instagram | Kelsonik
You see, the Italian car marque hasn’t had such a thing in its lineup ever since the 159. You do remember the sports sedan built between 2004 and 2011, don’t you? Why, of course you do, as its design is hard to forget, and that’s a good thing, because it looked very cool back then, and it still looks cool to this day. But the 159 wasn’t strictly offered as a four-door sedan, as a five-door estate joined it, and it added the Sportwagon suffix.
Both featured a front-engine and either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. They were based on the GM/Fiat Premium platform, just like the Brera, Spider, and Visconti Concept. The powertrain family comprises a few straight-four units, a V6, and three diesels, which were mated, depending on the configuration, to a five-speed manual, a six-speed manual, or a six-speed auto ‘box. The 159 preceded the 156, and it was succeeded by the Giulia from 2015.
The latter is thus an aging product, as it will turn 12 next year, yet that does not mean that it is not on the cool side of the premium compact segment, because it is, especially in the Quadrifoglio specification, not to mention the even more exotic GTA and GTAm. The old FCA Giorgio platform sits beneath the skin, and it is shared with its crossover sibling, the Stelvio.
Photo: Instagram | Kelsonik
Now, given that Alfa Romeo no longer has a station wagon in its lineup, and that the Giulia continues to live on as a four-door sedan, it is obvious why the rendering artist quoted above has decided to unofficially christen this CGI model the Giulia Sportwagon. It features the same front fascia as the Cuorerosso Concept, has a much longer roofline, traditional rear doors, flush handles, different rear three-quarter panels, and redesigned rear three-quarter windows.
The changes continue out back, where this machine features different rear pillars, a tailgate that opens up into a generous cargo area, and a spoiler. Everything else soldiers on from the show car, including the taillights, rear bumper, diffuser, Alfa Romeo emblem, and so on. The car is finished in the same red color, and rides on the same gold wheels.
As you already know, the Alfa Romeo Cuorerosso is a 2+2 four-door model, and it packs the same engine as the Giulia Quadrifoglio and the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. The company hasn’t detailed the powertrain, but we know that the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6, which boasts Ferrari DNA, develops 505 hp and 442 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque, and 533 horsepower in the GTA and GTAm versions of the Giulia.
It is likely that the Alfa Romeo Cuorerosso won’t hit the assembly line, but some of the design cues could be found on future models from the Italian car marque. And to be honest, we want to see this thing in production, with only a few tweaks, as it would be a proper rival to the likes of the BMW M3, Audi RS 5 Sedan, and Mercedes-AMG C 63. Not to mention that the Sportwagon flavor would allow it to tackle the five-door versions of these cars.
