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2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Review | As good as you imagine

When you affix words to a car such as “Alfa Romeo,” “Quadrifoglio,” “twin-turbo,” and “Ferrari-derived,” youÂ’re setting up some pretty serious expectations. Add to that a price tag thatÂ’s near the top of its segment, as with our 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, and those expectations creep ever higher to a point that seems hard to fulfill. But IÂ’m happy to report the Giulia passes with flying tricolores. ItÂ’s intensely fast, incredibly nimble, and surprisingly playful and approachable. ItÂ’s one of the most fun supersedans. Of course, the headline feature of the Giulia Quadrifoglio is that twin-turbo V6 based on a Ferrari engine, and it certainly deserves the hype. It generates a massive 505 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. ThatÂ’s more power (though less torque) than the mighty Mercedes-AMG C 63 SÂ’s V8. Power comes on smoothly and only grows stronger with revs until the limiter kicks in. Lag is practically non-existent, and the exhaust note, though a bit blatty inside, generates a low, gritty howl outside thatÂ’s fitting for a slinky Italian sedan. The only thing preventing the powertrain from being the unquestionable class champion is the transmission. This is strange, since itÂ’s the vaunted ZF eight-speed automatic, but it shifts slowly for such a sporty car. At least itÂ’s smooth, and the huge metal shift paddles are a delight. As for the GiuliaÂ’s chassis, itÂ’s marvelous with no caveats. What stands out is its playful demeanor. It keeps you informed of every move it makes, even throwing in a bit of Miata-like body roll. The steering isnÂ’t quite as talkative, but is more so than many of its competitors, especially BMW, and itÂ’s lightning-quick and weighted well. To cap it off, the car is highly stable, even on rough pavement, and the wide tires offer tremendous grip. The ride can occasionally be bumpy, but never harsh. ItÂ’s well-balanced. At this point it's also worth noting that the character of the Giulia can be altered substantially with the drive mode selector. The settings are "Race," "D," "N" and "A," with the latter standing for "Dynamic," "Normal" and "Advanced Efficiency." Race and Dynamic are the sportiest with the quickest throttle response, loud exhaust, and more lenient traction settings, and they set the suspension to the firm setting by default. But the suspension can be switched back to the normal setting by pressing the shock absorber button.

Vintage 1921 Alfa Romeo G1 rally car hits RM Sotheby’s

The only known surviving, fully operational example of Alfa Romeo's first commercial car is hitting the auction block at RM Sotheby's at its auction in Phoenix next month, when the 1921 G1 is expected to fetch up to $1.5 million. It's one of only 52 examples, including two prototypes, built between 1921 and 1923, and the only known surviving member of the series, stamped chassis No. 6018. It spent many years on a remote farm in Australia, during part of which the engine was put to work powering a water pump, before undergoing a restoration sometime in the mid-1960s. The G1 is powered by a 6.3-liter side-valve inline six that was said to have been designed with input from Enzo Ferrari, then a driver for the company, and was the largest motor ever fitted to an Alfa. It was based on two cast-iron three-cylinder blocks with fixed cylinder heads, a cylinder bore of 98 millimeters and a stroke of 140 mm to make 71 horsepower and 216 pound-feet of torque, with a top speed of 86 mph. It has a four-speed manual gearbox, which sends power to the rear axle through a single-dry plate clutch and an open driveshaft. The G1 was built to support Alfa Romeo's racing activities and was marketed to the same upscale clientele as Rolls-Royce, Hispano Suiza and others. A stripped-down version of the car won its production class at the Coppa del Garda, according to RM Sotheby's, but the production version suffered for being an expensive fuel guzzler at a time of economic and political chaos in Italy following World War I. So the company exported all 50 production versions to Australia (and possibly to South Africa), where this one was picked up by a Queensland businessman, who later went into bankruptcy and sent the car to a farm in the Outback to hide it from creditors. Ranch workers reportedly found it in the late '40s and used it as a farm runabout before the rear axle failed and the engine was used for the water pump. The remains of the G1 were acquired by a man named Ross Flewell-Smith, who would restore it over 10 years, including finding authentic replacement parts. It would undergo three full restorations in subsequent years.Related Video:

2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Review & Buying Guide | Small but significant changes

The 2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a luxury SUV aimed at folks who want something different – not necessarily to be flashy, but just to stand out in a crowd of grey Audis and black BMWs. Besides its badge and decidedly un-German styling, the Stelvio drives like no other luxury SUV. It has quick steering with great feel and excellent road holding that provide the sort of involved driving experience you probably don't expect from a high-riding crossover – and that goes triple for the outrageous, 505-horsepower Quadrifoglio that is without question the most desirable and competitive Stelvio. However, to this point, choosing the Stelvio also meant putting up with some overtly cheap interior pieces, an arcane infotainment system, few accident avoidance technologies and a poor reliability reputation. As you'll read below, all but the reliability issue have been addressed for 2020 – and only time will tell if the reliability's been improved. These changes are welcome and make the Stelvio much easier to make a case for getting something different. What's new with Stelvio for 2020? The interior's cheap and wobbly switchgear, which so obviously stood out in the 2019 Stelvio, gets a welcome upgrade for 2020. The electronic shifter is a little more solid in action, it's now covered in stitched perforated leather and surrounded by a metallic housing festooned with a little Italian flag. The electronic parking brake has been relocated to the left of it. The center console has also been redesigned to accommodate a wireless charging pad. Knobs for the "dna" drive mode selector, volume/track and the infotainment control knob feel more solid, while the latter is ringed by a nice knurled metal finish. That knob, however, has become a redundant control interface as the 8.8-inch infotainment display is now touch-operated as well. It also has new graphics and a new interface with a configurable home screen. It's a definite improvement over what was there before. The Stelvio also gets more advanced accident avoidance tech, most of which are among the best-executed on the market. The base price has also gone down by about $1,000 for 2020 despite these upgrades. That's rare. What's the Stelvio's interior and in-car technology like? Despite its many worthwhile upgrades for 2020, the Stelvio's interior still doesn't possess the same luxurious look and feel you'll find in an Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche or Volvo.