2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Preview

Exterior Features

Alfa Romeo employs an old sport sedan recipe for the Giulia’s design: long hood, short deck, short overhangs, near 50/50 weight distribution. Beyond the basic shape, traditional Alfa styling cues include a V-shaped nose with the classic shield grille, creased bodywork, and horizontal LED taillights to emphasize the Giulia’s width.

As for the Quadriofoglio, it means serious business, hunkered down on staggered-width 19-in. aluminum wheels with an available 5-hole design that celebrates the brand’s heritage. A carbon fiber hood, roof, and rear spoiler are standard for this version, and an active aero front splitter made of carbon fiber can generate up to 220 lbs. of downforce. Alfa says the Quadrifoglio slips through the atmosphere with a coefficient of drag measuring 0.32 cd.

Seven different exterior paint colors are available, as well as four different wheel designs.

Interior Features

The driver and front passenger enjoy performance seats facing an asymmetric dashboard design. The driver-focused cockpit supplies a thick-rimmed steering wheel inspired by Formula 1 racing, and it includes the car’s red engine-start button. White-on-black analog gauges are separated by a 7-in. color driver information display.

2017_alfa_romeo_giulia_quadrifoglio_ar017_085gugmi9v54agpfe035r45f41rc21_720.jpg

Optional Features

Five interior color combinations are offered for the Quadrifoglio, each pairing ultra-premium leather with Alcantara suede inserts, contrast accent stitching, and real aluminum and carbon fiber interior trim.If the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio’s standard performance seats don’t offer enough bolstering, opt for the available Sparco racing seats with a carbon fiber shell.

Under the Hood

When the 2017 Giulia goes on sale, it will have a turbocharged, 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine making 276 horsepower; an AWD system will be optional. More details about that version of the car will be available at a later date.

Here, we’re discussing the Giulia Quadrifoglio, which employs a Ferrari-derived, twin-turbocharged, 2.9-liter V-6 engine cranking out 505 horsepower and 443 lb.-ft. of torque. A 6-speed manual gearbox feeds the rear wheels through a carbon fiber driveshaft.

According to Alfa Romeo, this setup produces 60 mph in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 191 mph. The company also claims that the Quadrifoglio holds the world Nurburgring lap record for a production sedan.

Additional hardware includes a twin-clutch rear differential torque-vectoring system, an electromechanical performance braking system with Brembo 4-piston calipers, a 2-mode sport dual exhaust system with quad outlets and a signature Alfa Romeo exhaust note, and summer performance tires. An optional carbon ceramic braking system with 2-piece brake rotors will bring the car to a stop from 60 mph in 102 feet, according to Alfa Romeo.

Chassis Domain Control optimizes the stability control system, the torque-vectoring system, the adaptive-damping suspension, and the active aero front splitter for maximum performance. The Giulia Quadrifoglio also has an Alfa DNA Pro driving mode selector with 4 choices: Advanced Efficiency, Natural, Dynamic, and Race. Race mode includes an engine Overboost function.

2017_alfa_romeo_giulia_quadrifoglio_ar017_013gujejegnl2fraf8elrdf08gb9hmi_720.jpg

Safety

For those times when you’re not racing this car around a track, a cylinder-deactivation system is designed to improve fuel economy by running the engine on half of its cylinders under certain driving conditions. An automatic engine start/stop system is also standard. Both systems work only when the car is placed in the Advanced Efficiency driving mode.Highlights from the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio’s safety equipment list include a forward-collision warning system with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot warning system with rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning system, and adaptive bi-xenon headlights that help the driver to see around dark corners and curves. Front and rear park-assist sensors are also along for the ride.

Technology

In addition to the driver-assistance and collision-avoidance systems listed above, the Giulia Quadrifoglio is equipped with an adaptive cruise control system with full stop capability.

The car’s 3-D navigation system supplies a high-resolution, 8.8-in. display and an Alfa Rotary Pad with gesture recognition. Using this setup, drivers can access real-time vehicle performance metrics, just to make sure they’ve got the fastest lap time around their neighborhood.*

*We do not advocate driving fast in neighborhoods.