You may have seen it at the Frankfurt Motor Show in range-topping QV trim, but the regular version of the Alfa Romeo Giulia will not be unveiled before March 2016.

The base Alfa Romeo Giulia will be available with rear- of four-wheel drive and with a choice of automatic and six-speed manual gearboxes. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until the Geneva Motor Show for final specs for the diesel and lesser petrol models. As for the design, the Giulia should look like a more tame Giulia QV.

The first deliveries of the Giulia are expected to begin in autumn 2016, which means there will be a delay of more than one year from the moment Alfa Romeo first showed the Giulia QV and its arrival in dealerships. That’s a long wait, but it will probably be worth it, as Alfa Romeo says it has made great efforts to differentiate the Giulia from German competitors.

“Premium brands offer the same thing. They are interchangeable. If you exaggerate, you could say they’re boring. New Alfa will put the driver back at the center. It’ll once again become the perfect fusion of man and machine. Putting the driver at centre stage means they’re at the heart of the brand,” Alfa Romeo CEO Harald Wester told Auto Express magazine.

The first of eight new models due by 2018, the Giulia will play a key role in helping the Italian brand increase sales to over 400,000 by the end of that year. That’s quite an ambitious target, considering that in 2014 the brand sold 74,000 units.

Note: Alfa Romeo Giulia QV pictured

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