British journalist Chris Harris’ new Top Gear web series debuts with his first driving impressions of Alfa’s M3 rival.
The new Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is the brand’s first genuine contender in this corner of the market and to say that it’s crucial for the company to be really good is frankly, an understatement.
Powered by an all-new twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 engine with 503hp and 600Nm (442 lb ft) of peak torque, the fastest Alfa Romeo Giulia is capable of a 0-62mph (0-100km/h) in 3.9 seconds and of a 190mph (305km/h) top speed.
Alfa kept the curb weight down to 1524kg (3,360 lbs) thanks to the clever use of aluminum and carbon fiber, with the propshaft and bonnet made out of the latter. Right-hand drive markets won’t get the option of a manual gearbox, leaving them only with an eight-speed automatic version.
This should be a shame, but Harris and other journos who drove the car in both configurations say that the manual is just not as good as they hoped for, but they don’t care that much about it. All they care about is that Alfa Romeo has finally given us a proper high-performance RWD saloon that sticks its tail out whenever you want it to.
You can watch the entire episode over here.