Alfa Romeo is unique for offering a sporty take on the Germans with a dash of quirky Italian flair. So for fans of the brand, it may come as an unwelcome surprise to see that the next generation of the Giulia sedan will take on American underpinnings, using the new Dodge Charger as its foundation. But Alfa tells us not to worry, as the Giulia will continue to offer its own special personality thanks to the flexibility of the new platform.

The modularity afforded by the STLA Large architecture will allow Alfa to tweak the sedan's dimensions, wheelbase, and suspension tuning. That kind of flexibility assures us that the Italian performance will not be lost in the Giulia's new Dodge roots, and the sedan will be able to avoid matching the monstrous footprint of the Charger––which is longer than a BMW X7 and wider than a Rolls-Royce Phantom. Expect the Giulia to shrink to a size that's acceptable for a typical European sports sedan, though we are still anticipating a mild growth spurt compared to the current Giulia.

Under the hood, not all Giulia sedans will have an engine. The highlight of this update will be the addition of a fully-electric powertrain, even though that might upset some enthusiasts. Luckily for them, Alfa Romeo will also offer traditional combustion power––just like how the Charger comes in both gas and electric form. Unfortunately, Alfa's current powertrains are off the table, and it's likely that hybrids will take their place. We do know that the Giulia will not be borrowing any powertrains from Dodge.

In terms of how this new Giulia will look, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean Philippe Imparato has expressed his approval while speaking with Motor1 Italy. "What we designed is a bomb. We couldn’t finalize the style of this car without being absolutely in love with it. And now we are!" he said. Even though the design portion is completed, Alfa still has other work to do before the early 2026 launch. It's worth noting that the updated Giulia will be preceded by a replacement for the Stelvio crossover, which is set to arrive next year.

Looking past the Giulia and Stelvio, Alfa Romeo could make more use of the STLA Large platform to develop some sort of larger sedan or SUV. There have been previous rumors about a potential BMW 5-Series rival, though unfortunately a crossover sounds like a more plausible idea.