Reviews
Gallery 1
Local arrival indicates this Italian hero is right on track.
WHAT IS IT? Only the most significant performance Alfa in decades. This is the four-door sports sedan that stands as the flagship of not just the Alfa Romeo Giulia line-up, but the halo model of the entire marque. Pressure? Um, just bit.
WHY WERE TESTING IT We drove the Giulia Quadrifoglio on an Italian circuit at its international launch, then took a manual example over Europe’s highest Alpine climbs. This is our first crack in the car on Aussie soil, but had to be contained to a track. A full road drive will follow soon.
The car the Alfa really needs to beat is the Mercedes-AMG C63 S, which brings two extra pots and another litre of capacity to the donk party, yet still only line-balls the Alfa for power (but does add another 100Nm.) Dampers are stiffer than a double scotch in their most aggro setting, but you’ll be intoxicated on the performance by then.
PLUS: Strong, refined powertrain; handling balance; interior; seduction factor MINUS: Lacks some equipment offered on rivals; is it really quick enough to rule its segment?
Alfa development driver Armando Bracco has the new Alfa Romeo Giulia QV ‑ recently crowned the four-door ’Ring record holder – pinned on its nose, his right foot mashed to the floor. The sweet little 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 pa-pa-paparps against the limiter, and the spinning rear Pirellis send a flurry of smoke signals that may translate, to anyone fluent in Apache, to “Alfa is back, baby…”
So, first impressions, beyond the local pricing: the styling is seductive, and the cabin is lovely. To my eye, the exterior has less of the overt butchness of BMW’s M3; more a purposeful curvaceousness, with several cool aero details. Inside, it has an understated style but features rich-feeling materials and fine design that feels sufficiently special.
No, this sets out to be a thoroughly modern Alfa; the car to spearhead the marque’s rebirth. You may recall Mike Duff’s drive of a manual version (Wheels, Summer ’16) scaling European summits, and his mention of an awkward shift action and high-biting clutch. No such issues here, and I suspect the eight-speed auto does a better job of masking the turbo lag Duff experienced.
What does give real hope for its ability as a brilliant road car is the chassis balance and adjustability. Even in the stiffer of the two damper settings, it doesn’t feel overly screwed down, so maybe this setting will actually be useable on Aussie roads, unlike the borderline-brutal Sport+ / Race setting on the Mercedes-AMG C63 S.
As does the overall cabin refinement, suppression of wind noise, and the feel-good factor for anyone with a weakness for Italian cars. We’ll find out for sure when the QV faces its rivals next month.
