Alfa Giulia, 4C, Stelvio and Quadrifoglio

In the past few weeks and months, Sean Smith has given us a look at the new line of Alfa Romeos, from the 4C to the latest Stelvio. We’ve edited the articles and put them together in one short peice which gives the reader an overall view of all four cars. Ed.

Story and photos by Sean Smith

Alfa 4C

Taking styling cues from the Alfa T33 Stradale, the Alfa 4C not living in the past or a modern revival of the older car, but does carry on the line, quite effectively. Yet the 4C is a stand-alone machine. The one-piece, carbon-fiber monocoque chassis is the perfect platform for the mid mounted four cylinder, 1.7 liter turbo charged, 237hp engine. Not a big number, but the weight of the whole car is not a big number: 2,500 pounds. So you’re not left in the back of the pack, you escape stationary on your way 60 in 4.1 seconds and can reach a license-removing night in jail at 160mph—if you dare.

The 4C is a true Sports Car. Those are the two words you need to remember, Sports Car. There aren’t many of them today. We have family movers, GT machines, and Hyper cars. The 4C is a Sports Car. It’s small, noisy, and inconvenient.

You can choose how the car responds to you by a small silver switch in the center console. When you change from Normal to Dynamic mode the grey and white, video-game dash changes from grey and white to red and white, and the tach glows yellow when you get near the limit: welcome to the modern age. Nonetheless the 4C is still a total driver’s car. You feel very much a part of the machine. The handling is sharp and fast, and the dual clutch shifts as fast as you can flick your fingers.

So you may not have great rearward visibility. To quote Franco from the movie Gumball Rally, “The first rule of Italian driving: what’s behind you is not important!” The 4C’s paltry trunk just barely holds a small bag and a credit card for your weekend outing. But you will want to drive it off on an adventure, no matter its shortcomings.And if that doesn’t fit the bill, you might want to choose the new Giulia TI which solves the space problems.

Alfa Giulia TI

If you decide to put yourself in a Giulia TI. You might not get the mind-melting horsepower and speed of the Quadrifoglio, but you also won’t be tickling the close-to-6-figure price tag. You will get close to the laser-sharp handling of the 4C, with a bit more room.

So if you throw down something close to 50K, you’ll be picking up a very sweet ride. For that money you get a turbo-charged 2.0 liter, inline, direct injected four that is putting out 280HP. Not a big number in today’s world of stratospheric power, but it gets the job done in a very satisfying way.

In the cockpit, focus your attention on the center console for a moment. Set the Alfa’s DNA driving mode knob to D for dynamic, then pull the shift lever to drive, then flick it to the left. Now pay full attention to the rather large paddle shifters and have at it! You will be glad you did! Power comes on with liquid rapidity. The one thing you are left wishing for is a better sound track. A sexy car needs a sexy growl—but, è la vita! You have all the mod cons without a dizzying array of buttons and switches. There are those electronic minders to keep you in line, but they don’t seem to be as crazy intrusive as others I’ve experienced. If this was to be your year-round ride for wintery climbs, I’d consider adding the Q4 all-wheel drive to the mix—or at the least a set of really good snow tires, because rear wheel drive and all-season tires don’t play well with even the smallest amounts of the white stuff.

With more than a 20-year absence from these shores, Alfa had to return to the US in a big way. Buyers in this class have become complacent. They stick with their ubiquitous Mercedes, BMWs, Audis, and Lexus. They all seem to blur into a uniform haze. Alfa had to come with exotic allure, but if they wanted to grab a share of the market, it couldn’t be with just a niche sports car (4C) and it couldn’t be with a hell raiser sedan (Quadrifoglio). They had to take aim at the C Class MB, the 340i BMW, The Audi A4, and the Lexus GS 300.

When the roads are clear and you get a chance, it’s made clear very quickly that the Giulia TI is fantastically well balanced. The handling is as light and sweet as gelato and the stability control doesn’t smack you upside the head if you get a little daring. The brakes have been called wooden by some, but with a little time they feel proper under your foot and do a very good job of bringing you down to zero. All this makes you think up excuses to take the long winding road home. With great turn in and a responsive ZF transmission you can be forgiven that you forget you are in a sedan—but that doesn’t matter, because the sex appeal is still there, even with the 2 extra doors.

Alfa Quadrifoglio

The Quadrifoglio. All the Alfa magic and sorcery abound. This car is seriously spec’d to the teeth! Here’s the Alfa DNA in action: A 2.9 liter 24 valve, 90 degree V6 twin turbo charged engine putting out 505hp @ 6,500 rpm with 443 lb-ft of torque @ 2,500rpm in a fairly light 3,822 lb. car. The body is steel, but the Quadrifoglio has a carbon fiber hood and driveshaft for weight savings.

First off, this car is seriously fast! The four doors are knocking on the 200 mph door HARD! It returns to its Alfa origins: engine in front, drive wheels at the back. With a near perfect 50/50 weight distribution, the handling is world class. The rapid response to steering input is mind-bending, and the steering wheel itself is a joy to hang on to. It is just so well balanced and comfortable you can cycle through the different drive modes, still feel sporty in comfort mode, and not have your teeth shaken loose in track mode. Great handling, fantastic carbon ceramic brakes, 8 speed paddle shift… you can’t go wrong, except maybe with that guy to whom you have to say, “Officer was I really going that fast?”

Alfa did not make compromises, they aspired to create vehicles that had the soul of motorsport in their 4-door, road going machines. Job done!

Alfa Stelvio

The Stelvio is based on the already award-winning Giulia platform; in fact, if you were not so far off the ground, you would swear you were in a Giulia, as the interiors are pretty much twins.

Even though you’re a fair distance off the ground, you don’t lose out on handling. The 9,000 foot Stelvio Mountain with its 48 hairpin turns is thought to be one of the great driving roads in the world; to have that named attached to it, this Italian crossover better be special. (It is noted that Bugatti too, before the War, had a model named Stelvio.)

Alfa’s SUV has a magical suspension. It’s light and responsive, making for a very agile machine. The springs are longer than in the Giulia—stiffer as well, to help deal with the extra height. But with near perfect 50/50 weight distribution over the axles, an 8 speed gearbox, and 280 direct-injected turbo charged horses, when you find yourself on your own version of Mt. Stelvio, you’ll find yourself in an SUV that really thinks it’s a sports car.

Like its Giulia counterpart, you can go all-in with the Quadrifoglio model’s 505 HP—or you can get yourself the TI version with the sports package and still not feel like you’re missing out. You may not have that tire-melting power, but you’ll still have a Sport Utility Vehicle that you’ll enjoy on a day-to-day basis.

The Stelvio has some big names to contend with, like the Jaguar F-Pace. It has two more cylinders, but the ride and interior don’t equal the Alfa. The Porsche Macan is a close contender, but you’ll pay a lot more for options to bring it in line with the Stelvio; and there is still that Battlestar Galactica center console to overcome. Then there’s the Audi Q5; the standard understated Teutonic vibe just doesn’t quite give you the eye candy the Alfa does. The main reason? It’s just not Italian! And it is lighter than all of them; so maybe a bit better fuel economy, and it might just be a little more nimble.

The trick is, when you get in the Stelvio, you still feel like you’re in a driver’s car, not just a family-mover. Alfa’s chief engineer wanted the SUV to drive just like the Giulia, and he’s done his job very well indeed. The steering is fast, it doesn’t get unsettled in turns, and there’s negligible body roll. You never feel like you’re in a large vehicle; the Stelvio magically seems to shrink to sports car size when you make it do sports car things. The Q4 four wheel drive system sends power to the rear wheels for traction and no torque steer, but will seamlessly send the power forward if it senses a loss of grip at the front. Even though there is no third pedal you remain engaged, running through the gears with your good friends the chrome paddle shifters connecting you to the ZF gearbox. The side bolsters on the seats keep that sporty feeling going as they hold on tight to you, so you feel one with this Sporty Utility Vehicle.