The Coolest Alfa Romeo Ever Might Not Make It To Australia

Alfa Romeo has taken the look of its ten-car Giulia Quadrifoglio Luna Rossa and spread it across the rest of its range, unveiling a new Edizione Luna Rossa special series for the Junior, Tonale, Giulia and Stelvio. So far, however, the Italian brand has only confirmed it for European markets.

The new models were revealed in Naples ahead of the second preliminary regatta for the 2027 America’s Cup, which will be the first edition of the event ever held in Italy. Italian sales opened on September 25, with pricing starting from €37,800.

Alfa Romeo has picked its partner well. Luna Rossa was founded in 1997 by Prada boss Patrizio Bertelli, races as Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, and has had Panerai strapped to its wrists since 2019, with the watchmaker releasing two new Luminor Luna Rossa models in July. It’s long been the coolest team in the America’s Cup, and nobody else on the water comes close for style, which is about as Italian as it gets.

It’s also got serious firepower. Kiwi Peter Burling, who won the Cup three times at the helm of Emirates Team New Zealand, joined Luna Rossa in June last year and has since been confirmed as one of the team’s four potential drivers for Naples, alongside Italians Ruggero Tita, Marco Gradoni and Margherita Porro.

They follow the Giulia Quadrifoglio Luna Rossa, which debuted at the Brussels Motor Show in January and was already sold out by the time it was unveiled. Built on the standard Giulia Quadrifoglio, it kept the 520hp twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6, added a mechanical limited-slip differential and wore a carbon aero kit producing around 140kg of downforce at 300km/h, roughly five times the figure of the regular car.

Its rear wing was shaped after the foils that lift Luna Rossa’s AC75 out of the water, while original Luna Rossa sail material was set into the dashboard. The Alfa Romeo badges were finished in red for the first time, and each car was completed through Bottegafuoriserie, the customisation program Alfa shares with its stablemate Maserati.

The Edizione brings a more accessible version of that treatment to the showroom. On the Junior and Tonale, it’s identified by a new grey paint inspired by the flotation vests worn by Luna Rossa’s crew, with a red line running down the side, gloss black wheels, sail-inspired upholstery and patterned ambient lighting.

The Giulia and Stelvio versions lean further into the Quadrifoglio Luna Rossa, with carbon fibre used for the front shield and the mirror caps, which carry the Luna Rossa logo. The Giulia also picks up Quadrifoglio-derived side skirts and spoiler, dark 19-inch wheels and red calipers, while the Stelvio rides on 21s.

Both come standard with Harman Kardon audio and electronically controlled suspension, and their seats combine leather with ECONYL, a recycled nylon made from fishing nets recovered from the seabed. Paint options are white, black and Etna Red.

The special series spans the Junior’s hybrid and electric versions and the Tonale’s full powertrain range, but the Quadrifoglios aren’t part of it, leaving the ten-car original as the only Luna Rossa Alfa with the V6.

According to Stellantis, the Edizione Luna Rossa will be rolled out progressively across European markets. UK order books open on December 1, with first deliveries scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.

Alfa Romeo Australia hasn’t announced any local plans, despite already promoting the Luna Rossa partnership on its own website.

There’s no obvious technical barrier. The UK is a right-hand-drive market, and Stellantis lists a 280hp 2.0-litre turbo petrol for the Giulia and Stelvio in the UK and non-European regions, which matches the 206kW engine already sold here in the Giulia Veloce.

The local arm also has form with special series. It took a 19-car allocation of the Giulia Quadrifoglio Estrema and brought in limited numbers of the Tonale, Stelvio and Giulia Tributo Italiano.

Australia has history with Alfa Romeo on the water too. The maxi yacht Alfa Romeo, which took line honours in the 2002 Sydney to Hobart, was built by McConaghy Boats in Sydney.

And Australia is back in the America’s Cup for the first time since 2000, with Team Australia representing Sydney’s Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club in Naples and Tom Slingsby leading the sailing program.

The tie-up with Luna Rossa also extends beyond styling. Alfa Romeo has shared its simulator, vehicle dynamics and virtual analysis expertise with the team, and is helping develop the software that controls the boat’s sails, adding a technical dimension to its sponsorship of the world’s oldest international sporting trophy.