Giulia

Make
Alfa Romeo
Segment
Sedan

Last year, we got a look at an Alfa Romeo Giulia dressed in the Italian Carabinieri (national police force) colors. That car is starting to age in an obvious way now, and with no clear plans for a replacement, Alfa has been spotted testing a mildly facelifted update instead. The test cars we've seen so far have attempted to disguise their fresh faces with black tape, but now we have a clearer look at the facelifted front end and new modular headlights similar to those of the Tonale thanks to leaked images of a Giulia in Pantera spec. For the uninitiated, the Italian police force's flying squad's cars are known as panteras, hence the image of a panther's head seen on the side.

Unfortunately, there are no images of the rear of the car, so we don't know if Alfa has changed anything back there. We suspect some mildly updated taillights, however, as a smoked set was seen in the spy shots we mentioned above.

That striking livery is as new as the car's face. We see the famous tricolore of the Italian flag in pinstripes with white accents and white mirror caps. The car itself is finished in a pale shade of blue, the same color that Italian national sports teams play in because of a custom that dates back to the European country's pre-republican days when blue was the official color of the Royal House of Savoy. In honor of the Italian monarchy, the official Italian color is often blue.

Why is this facelift so mild, you ask? After all, this car was first unveiled in June 2015, making it only a year younger than the current Ford Mustang. But as is the case with the Blue Oval product, Alfa Romeo doesn't want to comprehensively redevelop a car that will soon need wholesale changes to comply with regulation. But instead of going hybrid first, like the Mustang, the Giulia "will be an electric-only model," announced Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato. So get your savings together and take the last chance you have to experience the prettiest and best Italian sedan in decades.