After nine years, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio should probably be shuffling off arthritically into the sunset. Instead, this old stager has come out fighting, with a second facelift designed to keep it competitive with the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63. A case of too little, too late? The Guilia has always been beautiful, so thankfully the updates for 2024 are mostly beneath its skin.
The only noticeable differences are the fussier new headlights, each inset with three LED swooshes that evoke the classic Alfa Romeo SZ . Or so it says here. Power from the 2.
9-litre twin-turbo V6 – itself derived from Ferrari’s ‘F154’ V8 – rises slightly to 520hp, while the steering and damping have been retuned. The big news, however, is a mechanical limited-slip differential, which replaces the electronic torque vectoring item of old. As we’ll see, it energises how the Quadrifoglio drives, encouraging this veteran super saloon to grow old disgracefully.
I don’t normally dwell on how a car looks , but the Giulia is so achingly gorgeous that you’re tempted to sell your grandmother and do the deal – £79,495, or around £700 a month with a hefty £20k deposit – before it even turns a wheel. From the offset front number plate to those voluptuous haunches, filled out by elegant ‘telephone dial’ alloys, it’s hands-down the most handsome saloon car on sale. And vastly more attractive than the beaver-toothed BMW M3 .
The Alfa’s aesthetics are helped by a fantastic rang.