Background
As everyone knows, you can’t call yourself a petrolhead unless you’ve owned an Alfa Romeo.
But even the most die-hard marque fanatics, the kind of people who go to bed wearing Alfa pyjamas, would have to admit that sometimes the almost mythical allure of the brand owes more to wishful thinking and rose-tinted imaginings than it does to the reality of driving some of the more recent models to wear the ‘Biscione’ badge.
When, in 2015, Alfa Romeo resurrected the Giulia name from the 4-door saloons and the more celebrated coupé derivatives of the 1960s and ‘70s, the motoring world rejoiced in having another front-engined, rear-wheel-drive alternative to the dominant German compact executive cars. Awards were swift in coming, helped in equal measure by the Giulia’s beguiling looks and strong performance.
Before the dust had settled, Alfa presented the ‘hot’ Quadrifoglio halo model as a direct challenge to the BMW M3, Mercedes-AMG C63 and Audi RS4.
Its Ferrari-designed 2.9L twin-turbo V6 delivers a maximum of 505bhp and a 0–62mph time of just 3.9 seconds.
Featuring a carbon-fibre bonnet, roof, prop shaft and front splitter, and weighing just 1,542kg, the Quadrifoglio is properly quick right across the rev range.
And its Ferrari-designed chassis helps put all that power on the road in a very, very satisfying manner.
That the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio was named ‘Best Performance Car for Thrills’ at the 2023 What Car? Awards for the second consecutive year speaks volumes and should tell you all you need to know about whether or not this particular Alfa lives up to the reputation established by its illustrious forbears.
In case you’re still not sure, it does.
It really does.
