The Totem Giulia GT Electric: An All-Electric Rethink to the classic Alfa Romeo
There’s no doubt that the classic Alfa Romeo Giulia is one of the most beautiful cars ever made. Its fine Italian luxury blended with sporting pedigree makes it a legend (when it’s not broken down). But Totem, an Italian automaker founded by former Alfa Romeo designer Riccardo Quaggio, pays tribute to the nameplate with their own, electric car version of that timeless design.
The Totem Giulia GT Electric: a totem of respect to Alfa Romeo
This Giulia GT Electric isn’t just an automaker cashing in on an old nameplate. It’s a luxurious love letter from a small start-up company to the automaker it’s inspired by. And while it isn’t all original, this resto-mod puts a new spin on the original Giulia.
The Totem Giulia starts life as a Giulia GT Junior, a small roadster version of the Giulia built between 1970 and 1975. But by the end of the transformation, the only aspect of the donor car that’ll remain is the chassis. Everything else is handcrafted from the ground up, including the carbon fiber body. According to Totem, the body took 8,000 hours to design, molded by 32 Italian craftsmen. But the intricate details don’t stop there
The Giulia GT Electric is all electric and all excentric
The interior, also handcrafted, appears entirely vintage. Only a few buttons and dials are spread across the cabin, yet it’s packed with the modern amenities one would expect in today’s cars. High-powered heating and air conditioning, an anti-theft system, electric windows, and even keyless ignition. And the round speedometers and tachometers behind the steering wheel are both digital, blending the past with the present.
But to truly appreciate the soul this car has, just look at the engine noise. Rather than the electric whir of your typical EV, Totem fitted the Giulia GT Electric with a modified version of the original sound. The car sounds like it idles and revs like an internal combustion engine, but is fully electric underneath.
For context, the original Alfa Romeo Giulia Junior had around 192 hp which isn’t all that bad. But Totem will swap that old engine for an all-electric powertrain capable of 590 hp and 811 lb/ft of torque. In other words, it’s slightly more powerful than its predecessor. That get’s the car from 0-60 in just 2.9 seconds and has a top speed of 158 mph. It’s no slouch, but it’s also not inefficient. The Giulia GT Electric is capable of 242 miles per charge thanks to its 63.9 kWh battery pack. And it has a 0-80% charge time of just 15 minutes when plugged into a DC fast charger.
The elegant craftsmanship surrounds the impressive performance and speed. And each customer will get to completely customize their own interior. But the number of people lucky enough to call themselves a customer will be low, and the price will be high.
The Giulia GT Electric will be exceedingly rare
We’ll rip the bandaid off quick: According to Autoweek, Totem only plans to build 20 examples. An unfortunately low number for such a high-caliber car. And while no prices are listed on Totem’s website, the Giulia GT Electric is sure to cost a pretty penny. Autoweek’s rough estimate is $500,000 to $600,000 per car, depending on which features you wish to have.
But for the rich and famous, or Alfa enthusiasts, this could be an excellent investment. After all, there isn’t an electric Alfa Romeo for sale yet, they only just attempted a hybrid. But until then, the Totem Giulia GT Electric honors the automaker with this tribute to the styling of yesteryear and the electric car technology of tomorrow.
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