In the wake of numerous sometimes conflicting reports circulating about the hot hat hatch's future, we wanted a straight answer from Torino. This is what we got:

“There are no plans at present to export the Alfa Romeo Giulietta to the North American market,” Richard Gadeselli, vice president of communications for Fiat Group Automobiles SpA, wrote in an e-mail to AutoWeek.

Now, that clearly doesn't rule out the Giulietta ever coming to the States. And with all of the planned engine- and platform-swapping among Chrysler and its Fiat siblings, we certainly hope some Alfas will come to North America soon in some form. The company has said the cars will be sold in “all the major markets.”

The Giulietta was revealed in March at the Geneva motor show amid great fanfare to mark the centennial of the historic brand. The name channels the mythical 1950s version--and that image is widely credited with helping to build Alfa's international fame and allure.

The new Giulietta launches this May overseas. It will be built in Cassino in central Italy, and the line will be topped by a 235-hp variant. All of the motors will be turbocharged. The company is aiming for annual sales of 100,000.

We sat in several Giuliettas in Geneva, and it's roughly the size of the Mazda Mazdaspeed 3--another hot hatch that has a cultlike following in the United States. The Giulietta's interior has nice styling and touch points, and it likely would garner a niche here if reliability is proved. We named the Giulietta the Most Fun at the Geneva show (“Swiss Mission,” AW, March 22, 2010).