We were sad to see the Alfa Romeo 159 discontinued last year. Together with the Brera coupe and Spider convertible, the 159 was one of the best-looking cars on the market. But with the storied Milanese marque gearing up for a return to the North American market, it couldn't leave the Giulietta hatchback (pictured here in red) as its flagship model for long. There's been some chatter recently regarding the new car's details, indicating a new mid-size sedan worthy of the Alfa badge in development not only for Europe, but for the United States, too.

Tipped to revive the Giulia nameplate from the classic pictured here, it will join the already confirmed 4C and Miata-based Spyder in Alfa's long-anticipated return to America. The latest intel indicates that the sedan is being jointly developed with Maserati (which is also developing a smaller stablemate for the Quattroporte) instead of using an existing platform from Fiat or Chrysler, as earlier reports speculated. Competition in the sport sedan market is fierce right now, and the successor to the 159 (pictured here in black) will have to fight for market share against the new BMW 3 Series and Cadillac ATS, to name just two.

Styling is likely to follow the theme set down by the Giulietta, but in a larger, trunked sedan form like the silver Giugiaro-designed Viconti concept from 2004. Besides having the essential rear-wheel-drive setup, several sources have claimed it could be powered by a tri-turbo 3.2- or 3.6-liter V6. A diesel version is a safe bet, but likely won't make it Stateside. A hybrid is also said to be in the works, but the sweet spot here is that a high-performance GTA is coming as well. More than likely, these last two won't be ready for when the car launches in 2014, but we're quite excited at what's to come from Alfa nonetheless.