Alfa Romeo has announced a partnership that its boss says will spawn a series of lighter and “more powerful” special-edition Quadrifoglio model variants, with the first to be unveiled in early 2026.
The unique road cars will come from Alfa Romeo’s new technology sharing partnership with Luna Rossa, an Italian challenger for the 38thAmerica’s Cup yacht race that’s set to take place in Naples, Italy, in 2027.
The America’s Cup – won by Australia II in 1983 – sees high-tech vessels vie for line honours on the water, in a competition as technically challenging as Formula 1.
When asked about whether the technical tie-up between the Italian automaker and Luna Rossa will extend to special-edition road cars, Alfa Romeo CEO Santo Ficili was emphatic that it would.
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“Yes – the answer is absolutely yes, and there is a lot of excitement about this, because we are working as two teams,” Mr Ficili said during a media call attended by CarExpert.
“The partnership is going to start now, and I believe in the next six to eight months we are going to be really working together – we have started already.
“I believe that Q1 2026 {the first quarter of next year] we would like to start with something we have in our mind – very limited, very powerful – and then we would like to continue.”
The Alfa boss added that the special editions will peak – or ‘apex’, as he called it – around the time of the 2027 America’s Cup, which is scheduled to take place between March and August of that year in Naples, where the Alfa Romeo Tonale small SUV is made.
He also said the Quadrifoglio name will still hold its place as the halo model grade of the Italian brand’s performance vehicle lineup.
“The first thing we are trying to work out together [on] is starting from the Quadrifoglio, which is our top performance brand, to find something that embeds the research of materials that we are doing together,” he said.
“Of course, it has to be something embedded into the Quadrifoglio brand – so it’s going to be basically something around Quadrifoglio.”
Alfa Romeo currently offers Quadrifoglio versions of its Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV, which are both at the end of their lifecycles and will be replaced some time next year by hybrid and electric successors.
Alfa Romeo’s global marketing boss, Cristiano Fiorio, has essentially confirmed ongoing petrol power for the brand after it cancelled plans to go all-electric by 2027.
“Personally, I do not see a Quadrifoglio EV,” Fiorio said to British publication Autocar earlier this year.
And it seems the special editions won’t wait for Alfa Romeo’s next-generation models, which are due to be outlined when the automaker announces its new strategic plan on June 23.
“The current range – we have to consider Junior [a new small hybrid and electric SUV due in Australia later in 2025], Tonale, Giulia and Stelvio,” said Mr Ficili.
“So, we will start from these four fantastic models we have today in our range, then we will see also in the future, but there is already space to work with the current range of Alfa Romeo.”
The centenary of the iconic Italian Mille Miglia – which means 1000 miles – road race will also take place in 2027, and the Luna Rossa team is set to race an Alfa Romeo 1900 SS in this year’s historic running for pre-1957 cars.
Driving the car during the June 17-21 event will be Italian rally driver – and head of corporate responsibility at fashion brand Prada – Lorenzo Bertelli.
“We are working with the team Luna Rossa and with Lorenzo in order to put all the know-how, the expertise of the design, the speed, the light materials into also some limited-edition cars,” said Mr Ficili.