Alfa boss admits Giulia delayed by a few weeks

ALFA ROMEO BOSS Fabrizio Curci has admitted that engineering issues have delayed the launch of the Giulia “by just a few weeks”. He denied reports that the all-new car failed to pass European front, side and rear crash tests, causing a six-month delay.

“Not one single screw is a carryover,” he said. “This car is all new, and it is true that we wanted to launch this car with the right quality from the start, but that caused a delay of maybe some weeks, certainly not months. There is no more to say than that. The car is ready, and it meets every requirement that has been set for it by the regulators and by us.”

set for it by the regulators and by us.” In Geneva, Alfa revealed the standard Giulia models. These will be powered by a 197bhp turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol or a choice of two 2.2-litre diesels, with 178bhp and 148bhp.

All models will be rear-wheel drive as standard, but all-wheel drive will be available on some models. The Giulia will be launched in the UK this winter, with pricing expected to start at £26,000.

Buyers queue up for Bugatti Chiron

A TOTAL OF 180 Bugatti Chiron customers have already placed deposits of €200,000 (£155,000) prior to being given the spec of the car or driving it in any form. In total, 500 Chirons will be built if there is enough demand, at a rate of around one a week. The car should be on sale in various forms until 2024.

Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer revealed that existing Bugatti customers will get first refusal on the car as a reward for loyalty to the brand and because their ownership indicates they won’t sell the car on to make money. “Interest has been exceptional,” said Dürheimer. “We have set out a clear policy of communicating with existing customers first, and the reaction has been amazing. One-third of the allocation has a deposit on before we have even told them the remarkable performance figures or even let them behind the wheel.

“The biggest order so far is for six cars, but we expect some busy days after the unveiling. We will see what the demand is, but it is a problem if we sell out too quickly — the quality of this car demands each one takes a week to be built. Our peak output will be 65 cars a week. Patience is required.

“We expect to earn new customers, too,” he added. “We have raised production over the Veyron by just over 10%, and, of course, Bugatti is earning new fans all the time.” The first customer will receive their Chiron, priced at €2.4 million (£1.9m), this autumn.

DB11 devines Aston

The new Aston Martin DB11 kicks off a product assault which will result in new versions of the Vantage and Vanquish being built on the same aluminium architecture

The DB11 made its debut in Geneva, and Aston has revealed that more than 1400 orders had been placed for the new £154,900 V12-powered 2+2 GT as of Thursday 3 March. Around 500 came from VIP customer preview events, the same again from people who saw leaked images online before the show and around 400 from Geneva itself.

Following the DB11 will be a new Vantage sports car, which is due late next year and should usher in Mercedes V8 engines to the Aston line-up. A new Vanquish will follow the Vantage, although whether it will be a performance GT or a full-blown supercar is still being decided.

Aston boss Andy Palmer also confirmed that the DBX, which will be built in Wales, would be based on an Aston-developed aluminium architecture and not from one sourced from another car maker. This model will be launched at the end of the decade.

Around that time Aston will also launch a new luxury Lagonda saloon, giving the firm three model lines. Palmer said the DB11 was a significant car, because DB Astons define the brand. As such, it was important to usher in new perceptions about Aston. “We need perceptions to go away

from those of old technology, old platforms, and the question of whether we can survive as an independent manufacturer,” he told Autocar. “Well, we’ve developed this as an independent company. There are no excuses in the technology. We’re covered. We can be very special in the things we want to be, in design, the aluminium body, the aero and ride and handling.”