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The most ambitious Porsche road car ever built may have also saved the 911.
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Films:
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio: A Study In Racing Genetics
Although I will surely never be able to drive one, let alone afford owning one. I can’t tell you how incredible it feels to see Alfa Romeo back at the top of their game. I had the privilege to see the Giulia Quadrifoglio in a garage a week ago and the car’s presence in the flesh is just so overwhelming. For me who has been an Alfisti for all my life, it really stirred my very soul just to lay eyes on it. I hope Alfa continues to impress the mainstream press with their upcoming models, I am personally very much looking forward to the eventual return of the Spider.
wonderful video thank you…as an owner I can tell you it is an absolute blast to drive, fast or slow….I too was hesitant to purchase with no manual & I bought mine sight unseen/no test drive….no disappointment at all…the beauty of this beast is not so much the engine, though it gets much press…it is the chassis dynamics, steering & balance…car is always poised..I would love to know the speeds that the GTV and QV hit that corner at….bet you the QV was traveling a bit faster 🙂 BTW mine is no garage queen, been to the track with it quite a few times….when I want to drive a manual I still am fortunate to have an E39 M5 in the garage….analog at its best! Great articles & films keep it up! & Thanks
If you want an intersting and informed take on the car – as opposed to an alpha ad – check out
https://youtu.be/lCbKlF53KSM
I like manuals too. This said, ‘Tiptronic’, ‘Steptronic’ and related hydraulic-planetary gear boxes designed for driver selection of the point of gear change, can be a lot of fun to drive. I have a BMW with a ZF 5HP19, and I always use it in ‘manual’ mode. This ZF gearbox was used, for instance, in a transaxle for the Porsche 911 from 1998 to 2003. A variant was used in the Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante V12. These ZF gear boxes are serious tools for enthusiast drivers. If you really love the new Alfas, you might leave your mind open to test driving one. I don’t know who made the Giulia Qadrifoglio gear box but you would imagine that they chose this component with a great deal of care.
Just checked. The gear box is a ZF hydraulic-planetary eight speed, with four planetary cassettes. When you are driving these gear boxes in manual mode, the torque converter is locked out much of the time. So when ‘in gear’ it feels just like a manual.
An interesting aspect of driving these gear boxes is that when you are engine braking, and ‘blip’ the throttle, the transmission knows you are going to down shift. So at the throttle ‘blip’ the gear box computer ‘lets go’ of the clutch on torque converter. When that clutch is released the turbine on torque converter starts to slip relative to the impeller, and engine speed rises relative to the input shaft. When you drop into the new, higher gear engine speed and gear ratio are aligned, and the shift is as good as double de-clutching a manual gear box. Depending on the skill of the driver the shift may not be as fast. And, if the RPMs are very high, the torque converter will be hydraulically locked. For enthusiast driving on public streets, when fractional seconds off a lap time are not being book-kept, these are not meaningful differences.
The ZF 8HP boxes are used on some cars with engines that are capable of horrendous amounts of torque. These include the Audi A8 and the Bentley Mulsanne. Compared to either of these cars, the ZF 8HP box is under specified for the Giulia.
A review of the box is here: https://www.caranddriver.com/features/zfs-8-speed-automatic-transmission
You know, I would still buy the manual. Ignoring that for the moment, I am learning more about the ZF 8HP and it is quite a beast. There are SEVEN wet plate clutches in the front of the torque converter. So it shifts in milliseconds, which is to say faster than a human hand can move a gear selector. Best of all, those clutch plates are out in front where they can be serviced with out cracking the case of the transmission.
@Robert in LA I understand that manumatics are quicker and better on the track, but for me that is not the point. Both of my cars are manuals because I think they make the driving experience more fun. I enjoy developing my skills and “getting it right”. In fact, for that reason I also don’t want a manual that automatically matches RPMs when downshifting; that’s something I enjoy doing myself, part of the involvement in the driving experience that I want.
Also in Europe (or at least here in Switzerland) the Quadrofoglio is only available with the 8 speed ZF 8HP auto.
However the Veloce (280hp) and the Super (200hp) are available with a stick.
I had a test drive with a Veloce at a dealer some weeks ago. Tried the manual (with a diesel) and the auto, i have to admit the ZF 8HP gearbox in manual mode is very nice to drive!
The golden moment of the whole thing is that panning shot of the GTV diving in to the tight right-hander and drifting on the exit (1:00)! Notice the following shot of the new Giulia and how it’s weight gives it a little shimmy whereas the GTV was smooth as silk. I think I know who’s having the most fun! Also the sound of the twin-cam 4 is so beautiful! The Giulia’s snort is intriguing but give me the 4 banger’s song any day!
Thanks Petrolicious, what a great video, Loved the sounds, loved the clips of vintage racing Alfa’s – Love the fact that you have been able to get car companies will come on board and fund this wonderful work. Totally support the sponsorship and the dollars it brings. Personally I wish the video was longer as would have loved to see more of the cars. To all the people that dont think commercialism is a good thing – Wake up and go drive your 10year old Honda – we dont care for your comments ! – Great Work Petrolicious – Totally made my day
This is interesting. You know what came to my mind watching this film, I was remembering all the old Alfas I’ve driven. Suddenly, I remembered the sensation of, I don’t know, a lot of things, like the mechanical feel of gear change, or that tiny little hesitation in the throttle pedal, or the smell, and the feeling that everything sort of melt together and disappear into a sort of meditative state, that singularity of driving an Alfa Romeo – all old Alfas shares the same feeling, they are distinctively Alfa Romeo, and I was thinking that I didn’t have any connection like that with new Giulia when I test drove it a couple of weeks ago.
Thank you Bill Meyer. Right on. Welcome back to the USA Alfa Romeo. Wow. Any bitter old ladies who want to complain can as Bill says, go commiserate with guitar slinger and praise the Pious. I lovfilm connecting Giulia Super with this gorgeous potent Giulia. The drifting is awesome and demonstrates the control ability of all these glorious mechanical works of art and science. Fellow car lovers and petrolicious fans, please appreciate this gift we pay nothing for and don’t practice judgement. Enjoy and relish this wonderful gift. It’s human nature to criticize but resist, nothing good comes from it.
I guess you have to pay the bills somehow. However, it really didn’t leave me with that warm fuzzy feeling I look for every Tuesday morning. This mornings coffee has left a bitter taste in my mouth. If Petrolicious has to start running commercial content that is understandable. However, I do feel that the suggestion Eric Roth made in the comments is the reasonable solution to our viewing needs.
There were several vintage ALFAs in the video…. some backstory on any of those would have served as the fix we are all looking for.
Anyone can go to the dealership and have a boo at the newest of the ALFA fleet. On the flipside, not too many of us will ever get to see the vintage side of ALFAs racing history if not for places like PETROLICIOUS. If not for the enthusiast these sites would be nowhere but a forgotten bookmark in our browser histories. Love the site just hope they don’t lose sight of who is actually supporting
so yes a commercial for Alfa, and although a bit of a let down for my tuesday I understand why you need to do them. Paying bills…well is paying bills we all have to do it.
May I suggest that maybe on these days you provide a “double shot”? Let us have the video we really look forward to, with this type of commercial as am intro or after the main video story? Just a thought. Out of all the commercials of the past, this was the best one but it just needs a little bit more vintage shots.
We do not get the manual in the US for a couple of reasons. #1, they say the auto is faster on the track. #2, they would have to crash certify the manual at great cost (changing the transmission requires new certification). #3, enthusiasts still seem to prefer manuals but enthusiasts are a very small portion of the US auto buying public, it would simply not make financial sense. It is sad really… I very much wish I could buy the manual version. I guess I will have to wait 25 years.
