This current generation of Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is getting a bit old now, nearing the end of its life-cycle. Even still, it’s among the best sport sedans in the world, potentially even the very best. Its blend of brilliant chassis balance, sweet steering, lively dynamics, punchy engine, and beautiful style make it hugely desirable, even though many of its competitors are a bit newer. Now, though, Alfa has released an even more hardcore, extreme version of the Giulia Quadrifoglio and, now that review embargos have lifted, it seems to be a sport sedan-slayer — the Alfa Romeo Giula GTAm.
To try and understand what the Giulia GTAm is, think if Porsche made a four-door 911, only prettier and more expensive. Alfa added a bit more power to the Giulia for GTAm-duty, though not much — the 2.9 liter twin-turbo V6 now makes 533 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque. So it’s only up 30 horses. However, it’s lost some weight; a carbon fiber roof, a carbon hood, a polycarbonate rear window, and plastic rear door panels all drop weight by 100 kg. It’s still not as light as you would want out of something so hardcore, weighing in at 1,580 kg (3,483 lbs) but it’s lighter than all of its competitors by far.
It also gets a wider wheel track, revised steering, revised double-wishbone front suspension and multi-link rear suspension, stiffer anti-roll bars, new suspension damping, 20-inch forged center-lock wheels, and ultra-sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. New adjustable carbon fiber aero, including a massive rear wing, drastically improve downforce, as well.
On the inside, it gets special Sabelt racing bucket seats, a rear seat delete, and even a roll cage. Alfa was even inspired by Porsche’s fabric door pulls and implemented them in the Giulia GTAm.
How does it drive, though? According to all of the drive reviews we’ve read and seen, quite brilliantly. It’s essentially a four-door 911 GT3, with absolutely superb steering, fantastic chassis dynamics, and a soulful personality that makes it addictive to drive. It also sounds brilliant, thanks to its Akrapovic exhaust. Not to mention it also rides surprisingly well, which means it could actually be used everyday.
From what we’re reading, the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm is probably the best driving sedan on the planet. Admittedly, it’s a bit useless as a sedan, what with no back seats and all, but it still has four doors and is based on a five-seat sedan. So the fact that it drives as incredibly as it does is immensely impressive. The only real issue is that it’s obnoxiously expensive, at nearly $200,000. However, it will only be limited to 500 units, so it will likely hold its value very well.
BMW hasn’t yet revealed its CS version of the new M3 but it’s going to need one if it wants to keep up with this new Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm. The new M3 is a superb machine so we can only imagine what BMW M can do with a CS model. We can’t wait for this comparison.
