What's the news?
Well, if you're going to launch a new Alfa Romeo sports saloon with three-quarters of a Ferrari V8 stuffed in the front end, you're going to have to back it up with some pretty exciting numbers.
This, Alfa Romeo has just done, saying that its Giulia Quadrifoglio hi-performance saloon will scamper around the famed and feared Nurburgring Nordschliefe - for decades now the tiresome touchstone of performance car hot lappery - in under eight minutes, 7 minutes, 39 seconds, to be precise. That makes it, fractionally, quicker than an old Lamborghini Murcielago, fact fans.
Alfa is also claiming a 0-100km/h time of just 3.9 seconds for the car, backed up by its four-wheel drive traction off the line, and that it will run on to a top speed of 307km/h. Co2 emissions are pegged at 198g/km, so it won't even cost you the top rate of motor tax...
Alfa's also making much noise of the car's new Integrated Braking System (IBS - does no-one proof read these acronyms?), which it claims can bring the car to a halt from 100km/h in just 32 metres.
The kerb weight is quoted at 1,542kg while Alfa says that the chassis control is all hooked up to an electronic 'brain' specially designed by Magnetti Marelli, which combines inputs from the Torque Vectoring, Active Aero Splitter, active suspension, brakes, steering and ESC system to best juggle the car's prodigious power.
Inside there's an 8.8-inch display screen controlled by a rotary touch pad, which includes Apple and Android connectivity and a banging Harmon Kardon sound system. All of the main controls, including the engine start button and the controller for the Alfa DNA Pro switch (which allows you to tweak it between Sport, Comfort and Maximum Attack modes) are mounted, Ferrari-style, on the steering wheel. Carbon brakes and carbon-fibre bucket seats are on the options list.
The only problem so far is that we don't know how much any of this will cost and, either way, we have to wait an entire year yet before it goes on sale.