Italy’s Hottest Sedan Is Nearly A Decade Old. Rivals Still Can’t Match What Matters Most 

Standing trackside, watching more than 100 machines, Porsches, Ferraris, the odd Holden Torana, thread through some of Victoria’s best roads, it’s easy to feel like a kid with his nose pressed against the glass. The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio sitting behind you is not helping.

That’s the thing about Targa Classica, Australia’s version of Italy’s legendary Targa Florio. Four days, 1200km of hand-picked Victorian roads, almost 80 timed stages. From the Mornington Peninsula to the Yarra Valley, wrapping up in Melbourne during F1 week. It gets under your skin fast.

The spectating is good. The driving? It’s even better when the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is your steed.

Why a Targa Event and a Quadrifoglio Belong Together

The Quadrifoglio badge traces directly back to a Targa. In 1923, Ugo Sivocci painted a four-leaf clover on his Alfa Romeo before the Targa Florio and won the race. Sivocci later died testing a car that did not carry the badge. The symbol has meant something ever since and duly appeared on Alfa Romeo performance flagships.

Over a century on, it sits on the front guard of the Alfa Romeo Giulia here, at a Targa event. Some things write themselves.

A Car That Goes Back Further Than You Think

Alfa Romeo unveiled the Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde in June 2015 on the brand’s 105th birthday, at its museum in Italy, with a brief to build a genuine rival to the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C 63. By 2018, Australia’s Best Driver’s Car, judged on Tasmanian roads that do not forgive anything, went to the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. Not the Germans.

This writer covered the world debut in Milan in 2015, was there when it won in 2018 and it has not lost a step. The Alfa Romeo Giulia has changed less than the world around it. Whether that is a compliment or a concern depends on which seat you are in.

On the Road

Spend even one day in our Montreal Green Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio test car on the right roads and a few things become clear, fast. It still looks the business, muscular, hunkered down, proportioned right.

The 375kW, 600Nm 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 remains the headline. In Dynamic mode, it has a voice, deep and layered under load, theatrical without excess. The eight-speed ZF automatic partners perfectly, holding gears when you want them held and shifting at 150 milliseconds in Race mode, which makes the broader dual-clutch obsession feel like a solution looking for a problem.

The steering is sports car sharp and always communicating. Road surface, grip level and weight shifting under braking. It telegraphs the things that matter.

There is also an ace up its sleeve. Switch to Dynamic mode for the engine and exhaust, then use the ‘soft’ button to optimise the adaptive dampers. The result is close to perfect for Australian roads, all the responsiveness of a sports sedan with ride quality that absorbs bad surfaces without complaint. German competitors still cannot quite match it.

One honest observation: the Alfa Romeo Giulia is fast enough that discipline matters. On point-to-point stages, you will be beyond legal limits before you have registered what happened. Adaptive cruise control earns its keep here.

Where It Shows Its Age

The Giulia is not a perfect car in 2026. The interior tells the truth, the screen is small, the tech is dated, there is no wireless CarPlay. Cabin materials are well finished, but buyers who care about connectivity will feel the gap against current rivals.

The chassis, though, remains exceptional. Alfa Romeo left the hard mechanics largely alone over the car’s life, and that turned out to be the right call.

The BMW M3 is the more complete daily proposition, fresher technology, better connectivity, a more refined interior. If you value those things alongside the drive, the M3 will probably suit you better. But it has been chasing something the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio has and has not caught. Some cars you operate. Some cars you drive. The Giulia belongs in the second category.

And if you are wavering, before this generation closes, Alfa Romeo has produced the Giulia Quadrifoglio Estrema, 19 units for Australia, from $186,990.

An Akrapovič titanium exhaust lifts outputs to 382kW and 606Nm. Full carbon-fibre treatment inside and out. Three colours, including Montreal Green, a shade that nods back to the 1970s Alfa Romeo Montreal. Be quick, if the allocation is not already gone, it will be.

Next Time, We Race

The Grand Finale at Melbourne Park, with the F1 circus assembling nearby, is a fitting end to our Targa Classica. Classic machinery under the lights, Italian heritage on full display.

We peered in from the outside this year. The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio was the right car for the occasion. But watching more than 100 cars navigate Victoria’s best roads does something to you.

Next year, we need to tick two boxes: the entry form and a borrowed Giulia. Alfa Romeo will surely understand.