2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

Every once in a while, a car comes along that’s got that WOW factor.  With the new Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, WOW is certainly what it’s got in spades… or maybe that should be clubs, given that the quadrifoglio (four-leafed clover) badge looks more like the club suit.

Naturally, as you’d expect from this prestigious Italian sports car manufacturer, the wow factor starts with the looks.  Alfa Romeo’s design team have certainly done themselves proud this time. Gone are the sharp angular looks of the sports cars of the past; instead, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is curvaceous with a hint of athleticism.  Think Wonder Woman or Venus Williams or Lara Croft.  Carbon fibre detailing in the bonnet, roof and rear spoiler give this four-door sedan just the right combination of strength and beauty, as well as making it more lightweight and efficient so the lucky, lucky driver can get the most out of the engine (more on that below).  Some of the features aren’t there just for the looks, either.  Take the Active Aero Splitter on the front sitting below the historic Milanese coat of arms and the dainty but powerful bi-xenon headlights: this looks stylish but it also helps to enhance the already excellent aerodynamics as well as the down force for extra grip.  One particular detail of the exterior styling that really makes me smile – and there are plenty of details that will do this – is one of the options for the 19-inch alloy wheels.  While all of them look gorgeous, my favourite would have to be the 5-Hole Dark Allow option, as this takes the cloverleaf theme to another level; a five-leafed clover.  You could also argue that the quad Monza exhaust system also keeps the theme going.

The interior styling continues the theme of pretty and powerful that the exterior promised.  Leather and Alcantra keep the seats looking good (along with more carbon fibre), and the selection of interior dash trims also have a nice modern edge.  Instead of slipping into the cliché of wooden inlays, Alfa Romeo have gone for black leather upholstery to match the seats, with a selection of colour options on offer for the stitching (black, red or green) as well as for the lower dashboard (black, red or white).  The dash is nicely laid out around the 7-inch colour instrument display, with curvilinear elements that aren’t traditional round ones (although the drive mode selection knobs and a few of the other dials are round for easy use).  The seats are nice and comfy, with plenty of scope for adjustment to fit your back and butt comfortably – and it’s got sports seats for all four occupants, just so everyone gets to share in the fun.

2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

Those of you who know a bit about the background of Alfa Romeo will know that the Quadrifoglio name and badge comes from Alfa’s racing heritage (the four-leafed clover badge was chosen as a good luck charm by one of the racing drivers in the 1920s), so you have probably guessed that the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio has something special underneath that nicely styled bonnet.  And you’d be right: it’s got a 2.9-litre V6 Biturbo petrol unit that makes up the next main WOW factor of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio.  This has got plenty of power for the driver to play with: 375 kW at 6500 rpm, along with 600 Nm of torque throughout the 2500–5000 rpm range.  Much more twist and this ought to be called a tornado rather than a Guilia.

Coupled up to the rear wheel drivetrain via the 8-speed automatic transmission (with paddle shifters), this engine is capable of accelerating the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio from a standstill to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. Let me repeat that: 3.9 seconds.  Very few other four-door sedans are capable of this type of acceleration, which shows that the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio really is a racing car at heart.  While the typical Australian driver is only going to be able to experience the top speed of the Giulia Quadrifoglio on a track or in a similar environment, it’s nice to know that it can do up to 307 km/h – and that it’s got strong Brembo brakes front and rear to rein it all in (in style, of course, with red brake callipers).  Alfa Active Suspension in combination with the Torque Vectoring System helps keep the sports sedan nice and stable for better handling.  Driver assistance comes in the form of cruise control, blind spot monitoring with rear cross path detection, lane departure warnings, a rear camera, and front and rear parking sensors (and a handy stop/start system): just enough to be useful without being intrusive.

Creature comforts are catered to in the form of heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, dual zone air conditioning.  As the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is made in Italy (yes, it really is made in Italy) where they take food and drink seriously, cupholders are a bit thin on the ground as the expectations are that (a) good espresso is worth stopping for and (b) you probably don’t want to risk spilling anything on the seats while cornering at speed… which the Giulia Quadrifoglio can certainly do.  However, the glovebox is refrigerated so your emergency stash of water and/or chocolate stays cool.  In the audio department, Alfa have keep it simple and kept it classy with radio plus USB and auxiliary input feeding into the theatre-quality 14-speaker 900 W Harman/Kardon surround sound system with Bluetooth connectivity.  The 8.8-inch display panel fits nicely into the interior layout and also displays the navigation.

2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

Current model series include:

• Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

For any more information on the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Alfa Romeo dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!