Giulia Quadrifoglio GTA: Alfa’s love letter to the fast saloon

Alfa Romeo’s standard Giulia Quadrifoglio was already a brilliant sports car, says Matt Prior in Autocar. And with the new limited edition GTA, “it has turned it into something even better”. The car has it all. It’s responsive, has “an uncanny ability to absorb bumps” and deftly navigates all types of roads. It’s lighter than the original car and adds “fever, specialness, and involvement” to the mix. The original car has basically received the Jaguar XE Project 8 or BMW M4 GTS treatment: in other words, a full-on ascent into “raciness” has been engineered. Only 500 will be made, but the high price tag – it will set you back around £153,000 – makes sense: this is an extreme car. 

It “looks like a million dollars in the flesh”, which is a good thing given the price, says Steve Sutcliffe in AutoExpress. “But for that you get a sports saloon like no other.” It’s “a crazy car for an insane amount of money… but on the right road [it] could be the most exciting saloon car we’ve ever driven”. Under the bonnet there is the same Ferrari-developed 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6, which produces 533bhp and torque of 600Nm. That propels the car from rest to 62mph in around 3.6 seconds. 

Yet despite a host of modifications to make the car more racy and high-speed, it’s a “surprisingly polite” saloon to drive at lower speeds, says James Dennison in Car magazine. At the same time, it’s Alfa’s “most serious performance car for years” and a different beast from the car on which it’s based – something the driver will sense as soon as they slide into the seat and push the start button. The car feels “tenser, more focused, coiled up like a jack-in-a-box, ready to deliver on its considerable promise”. It “is the finest fast Alfa in years”. It is “Alfa’s love letter to the fast saloon”, agrees Top Gear. Buying one may not make much rational sense. But that’s true of all the best things in life.