When the Alfa Romeo Giulia came out the model everyone was interested in foremost was wearing a famous green clover on the front fenders. Yes, I’m talking about the Quadrifoglio Verde model, or QV for short, as this is the one challenging the status quo in the segment dominated by the M3 for decades. Luckily for the automotive industry, Alfa Romeo hit a homerun and their Giulia was praised for all the right reasons, the Ferrari engine being one of them.
In case you didn’t know, the QV uses a 2.9-liter V6 developed by Ferrari, yet another company under the FCA umbrella. It develops 505 HP and 600 Nm (443 lb-ft) of torque and is connected to an 8-speed automatic gearbox from ZF. Unlike what some might’ve expected in lieu of what high-performance cars are doing these days, the Giulia is a rear-wheel drive machine just like the M3. Even so, the sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph) takes just 3.9 seconds, a more than decent time.
The M3 on the other hand, in Competition Package guise, comes with 444 HP and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) of torque. Unlike the Giulia it uses a 7-speed DCT gearbox and it’s also rear-wheel drive. BMW claims the enhanced M3 will do 62 mph from standstill in 4 seconds flat which is barely noticeably slower than the Alfa. If the two were to race from standstill, the driver skill would be the most important thing at play but from a roll, the Alfa will surely be faster due to its specs.
Another thing we need to point out here though is that unlike cars from Mercedes-AMG’s division or Audi, the Alfa Romeo is also quite light on its feet, being marginally lighter than the M3. According to the specs listed by the guys from Dragtimes, the QV is just 6 lbs ligher, a weight difference which can easily be offset by the driver. Nevertheless, what you’re about to see is a total Italian domination, at times helped by jumping the gun a bit.
