Alfa Romeo Giulia adds amazing style to fantastic performance

FRANKFURT -- Audi S4? BMW M3? Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG? These are questions buyers typically ask themselves when they're thinking about buying a European sports sedan. They're all very good, none will really disappoint, but they're all lacking something: soul. There's a new competitor entering the market soon, offering capabilities and features very much in the same mold as those other three, but with a look that could put it on another level.

The Giulia is a four-door, four-seater with the engine up front as you'd expect. It's a twin-turbo V-6 that, in the high-performance Quadrifoglio trim, makes a whopping 505 horsepower. That's 80 more than BMW's M3 and M4, and it's enough to bring this car from zero to 60 in just 3.8 seconds.

Alfa Romeo Giulia looking lovely in Frankfurt (pictures)

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It'll stop quickly, too, thanks to carbon ceramic brakes at all four corners. Extensive use of aluminum and carbon fiber help keep the weight within reason, while a perfect 50/50 weight balance between front and rear axles should mean great balance around the curves.

And then, of course, there's the styling. The short, abrupt nose features the classic Alfa intake, but the swelling fenders and rounded profile means it looks like nothing else in the segment. And little else on American roads.

The Giulia comes to the US as a 2016 model, and while Alfa hasn't given us US pricing yet, the car starts at 72,000 euros for the base model and rises to 90,000 euros for the high-performance Quadrifoglio. That roughly converts to £52,900, $81,300 or AU$114,430 for the base model and £66,120, $101,620 or AU$143,050 for the Quadrifoglio. As you can see, it won't be difficult for US customers to price one of these well into six figures if you tack on all the options. That's a small price of admission if it means you get to look at this thing every morning.

Be sure to check out all of CNET's coverage of the 2015 Frankfurt auto show.