The message is clear – Alfa Romeo is back, at least they’re hoping to be, in full force. The world waited with bated breath as the Italian brand revealed the Giulia QV sports sedan earlier this year – the first model of the Alfa renaissance – an event which left everyone dying to know more. This past week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Alfa Romeo revealed further details of the Giulia’s top spec QV model, including an absolutely blistering Nurburgring Nordschleife lap time.
How fast, you might ask, did it lap the famous Northern loop? Well the BMW M4 did it in 7’52”. The Giulia, 7 minutes and 39 seconds; a full 13 seconds quicker than the Bimmer.
But behind the Italian flare and design of the Giulia, there‘s some solid engineering at play that results in the outright performance. We’ve got all the details for you.
By now we already knew the Alfa Romeo would be powered by a Ferrari-developed twin-turbo V6. We now know this engine develops 375kW (510PS) @ 6500rpm and 600Nm between 2500 and 5000rpm. The aluminium-block V6 features a displacement of 2891cc (2.9-litre) and a compression ratio of 9.3:1.
Drive goes to the rear wheels, via either a 6-speed manual transmission or an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission – the same unit used in the BMW 3 Series, Jaguar XE, F-Type, and numerous Audi models. Apparently, when equipped with the manual transmission, the Giulia QV will complete the 0-100km/h sprint in 3.9 seconds, and top out at 307km/h. Alfa Romeo claim the Giulia QV consumes 8.5l/100km on a combined cycle test, whilst emitting 198 grams of CO2 per kilometre.
Fun Fact: The twin-turbo V6 engine from the Giulia QV is also highly speculated to be the driving force of the forthcoming Ferrari Dino
Mechanical torque vectoring is equipped via a twin-clutch pack on the rear axle that apportions power to each wheel individually, as opposed to braking the inner front wheel, overheating the brakes, and slowing the forward momentum of the vehicle.
The Giulia QV measures 4639mm long with a 2820mm wheelbase, 1873mm wide excluding mirrors, and due to extensive use of carbon fibre – including carbon fibre driveshafts throughout the entire model line up – and aluminium, the Giulia QV’s weight is claimed at 1524Kg with a claimed 50/50 weight distribution front/rear.
The Giulia QV rides on 19-inch alloy wheels, wearing 245/35 profile Pirelli P Zero rubber at the front and 285/30 profile at the rear, housing standard 360- and 350mm brake discs respectively. Optionally, the Giulia QV can be equipped with carbon ceramic discs measuring 390mm up front and 350 at the rear, which can slow the Giulia from 100km/h to 0 in less than 32 metres.
The Giulia QV’s fuel tank is 58 litres in capacity, whilst luggage space is claimed at 480 litres.
From a quality perspective, there have been concerns over the interior quality of the materials, switchgear and electrical components. Alfa Romeo has contracted many of these aspects out to specialist manufacturers to ensure that the Giulia is of the highest quality.
Plastics are by a company called Faurecia, who are no strangers to the premium automotive market, being the 6th largest automotive parts manufacturer worldwide, and having done plenty work in recent years with Mercedes-Benz, the Volkswagen Group, and BMW.
The infotainment system is being provided by Magnetti Marelli in collaboration with Genivi Alliance, which also provide BMW’s systems. The 8.8-inch TFT display is controlled by a rotary touch pad on the centre console, which features integrated voice and gesture control systems. Navigation installed on the system is provided by TomTom, whilst audio quality is assured by Harman Kardon, providing no less than 14-speakers throughout the car.
All other electrical systems have also been developed by Magnetti Marelli, including the new Alfa DNA Pro drive select system, Chassis Domain Control (CDC) which controls the onboard electronics to enhance the driving experience, active suspensions, ESC, and the active aerodynamics.
All switchgear will be provided by the same suppliers as BMW, ensuring the Giulia’s quality will be on par with all the top competitors in the segment.
Magnetti Marelli have also been highly involved in the development of the lighting systems equipped to the Giulia. The rear clusters are LED units, whilst the front are Xenon clusters with LED daytime running lights, cornering lights, and direction indicators.
Pricing has been confirmed in Italy at 95 000 Euro (R1.45 million at time of writing), but whether it will arrive here locally at that price remains to be seen.
The BMW M3 has forever been the icon in the segment, but the Giulia poses a strong threat to the Bimmer’s position on the throne. Development of the Giulia QV was overseen and headed up by Philippe Krief who was highly involved with development of the Ferrari 458 Speciale, so we can expect a bit of Maranello-magic in the new Alfa Romeo sedan.
