The most thrilling performance car of 2023

For the second consecutive year, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio has been voted the “best performance car for thrills” in the 2023 What Car? car of the year awards.

This is due to the athletic four-door “unashamedly goes after one thing more than anything else: smiles per mile,” said the publication.

The Giulia appeals to petrolheads with a V6 powerplant that provides an “intoxicating soundtrack, especially in Race mode” while offering remarkable agility and balance “that allows you to explore its limits with confidence.”

This honour was bestowed upon the performance car just as the signature four-leaf clover badge enters its centennial year, first appearing on the bonnet of the Alfa Romeo RL Corsa all the way back in 1923 where it had the job of improving the racing driver’s luck.

AMG vs M vs Quadrifoglio vs RS

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is currently on sale in South Africa for a starting price of R1,805,900 and it competes against the likes of the Audi RS5 which is around R250,000 cheaper, as well as the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63 S – both of which are over R200,000 more expensive.

In the local market, the Audi and BMW are all-wheel drive whereas the Alfa and Mercedes turn the rear axle only, and each sports car is equipped with an eight-speed automatic gearbox except for the AMG, which has nine gears.

The specifications of these competitors are detailed in the following table:

The Alfa may not be the quickest from a standstill but it certainly is the lightest, playing into its agile and balanced persona.

The combination of a low kerb weight and good weight distribution has also resulted in the Giulia beating its rivals around the most-famous race track in the world, the Nurburgring Nordschleife, registering a time of 7 minutes and 32 seconds, while the more powerful, all-wheel-drive BMW managed a time of 7 minutes and 35.06 seconds.