Alfa Romeo, the Italian brand built (and rebuilt) on 1960s sex appeal, posted the biggest surge in US sales in 2017, an anachronistic result in an industry currently mesmerised by battery packs and self-piloted transportation pods. The carmaker won its bragging rights the oldfashioned way — through performance.

Alfas have curb appeal, powerful engines and solid engineering. Make no mistake, auto executives are watching the Alfa Romeo experiment closely. It’s not something one sees all that often in the car business these days. Fiat Chrysler assembled a skunk works of marketing gurus and Ferrari engineers and told them to dream big.