THEY say you are not a true car fan unless you have owned an Alfa.
Let me save you some time – get yourself one of these, the beyond brilliant Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio.
Yep, the one with the Ferrari engine, minus two cylinders, sending a monster 520hp to the rear wheels.
It’s basically Italy’s BMW M3. But lighter. And more Gucci. Quadrifoglio, pronounced Quad-ri-folio (silent ‘g’) is Italian for four-leaf clover.
Alfa has put the good-luck charm on its top, top road cars since the Sixties but it goes back much further than that, to Alfa’s first race win in 1923.
Hop in any motor with a four-leaf clover pinned on it and you know the next half hour or so is going to be fun.
First off, the engine sounds magnificent. There are zero electric gubbins at play here. Just a fire-breathing 2.9-litre V6 twin-turbo that pushes you relentlessly to the red zone.
Combine that noise and speed with pin-sharp steering, great balance and a surprisingly comfy ride over our dog-dirt roads, whether you’re going fast or slow, and the Giulia is beautiful to drive.
It’s also a bit of a saint because, at low speeds, one bank of three cylinders will shut down to maximise efficiency.
So you might be asking, “What’s new?” Because this Quadrifoglio super saloon looks pretty much identical to last year’s Quadrifoglio super saloon.
The answer is mostly under the skin. Aside from a lickle 10hp power hike, this 2024 model adopts thicker rear anti-roll bars and retuned suspension from the limited-run GTA models developed with the Sauber F1 team.
But the really big news for car nerds is that Alfa has scrapped the electric torque vectoring system and fitted an old-school mechanical slip differential. Double hurrah.
You’ll be a proper drift god on track days.
Pop the Quadrifoglio in Race mode and even your nan could provoke the car into a huge power slide – and hold on to it. Whereas the other system would intervene and spoil your fun.
We had the rears spinning in third gear.
As for cosmetics, the driver’s cluster is now digital, the carbon-fibre trim is now matte and not lacquered, we like that, the headlights are more technical, and, er, that’s about it.
Price? An absolute bargain at £78k.
I’m serious. You’re getting three quarters of a Ferrari for a third of the price.
Also, the clock is ticking.
The next-gen Giulia coming in 2026 will be electric-only, meaning this will be one of the last Alfas with a pure combustion engine.
Sound investment I reckon.
The Stelvio SUV, also Quadrifoglio but 4WD, goes pure electric even sooner, summer next year, and every Alfa will be battery-powered from 2027.
KEY FACTS: ALFA ROMEO GIULIA
- Price:£78,195
- Engine: 2.9-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol
- Power: 520hp
- 0-62mph: 3.9 secs
- Top speed: 191mph
- Economy: 28mpg
- CO2: 229g/km
- Out: Now