Giulia QV i
John Mahoney9 Sept 2016
NEWS

Alfa Romeo beats Porsche at the Nurburgring

Italian car-maker's Giulia QV sedan quicker than Porsche's latest Panamera Turbo -- but only when fitted with an eight-speed auto

Alfa Romeo has once again proved it makes the world's fastest production sedan by setting an even faster lap time at Germany's mighty Nordschleife.

Originally, the Italian car-maker claimed its Ferrari-derived 2.9-litre V6 turbo-powered Giulia was capable of lapping the terrifying German toll road in a time of 7:39, but when Porsche announced its all-new Panamera Turbo had pipped the Italian car-maker’s production sedan record with a time of 7:38, Alfa Romeo decided on a spot of revenge.

This time, instead of using the previous record-holder’s six-speed manual, Alfa Romeo’s test driver Fabio France chose a Giulia Quadrifoglio fitted with a ZF eight-speed auto.

The choice proved a wise one, with the mid-size sports sedan lapping considerably quicker than the manual QV, posting a new record time of 7:32.

Better still, this time Alfa posted a Youtube video of driver France in action, proving to Porsche, and the world, it was genuine.

Unleashing the Giulia QV's 375kW/600Nm on the circuit, in the video it's clear -- despite impressive traction -- the Italian test driver is working hard to carefully manage oversteer.

Bumps and crests take their toll on the Italian sedan but understeer is notably absent and stability is impressive.

France even comes close, towards the end of the lap, to verifying the Giulia's 307km/h top speed by posting an impressive 284km/h.

Giulia QV iii

Weighing in at 1524kg, the new Giulia can sprint from rest to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds. Helping it keep stable at high speeds is an active front splitter that extends to boost downforce.

It's not known what options were fitted to the car that set the record. It's expected France drove a car equipped with Cup tyres and some forthcoming performance-enhancing options, like ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre Sparco seats.

Expect those to be costly options when the Italian BMW M3 rival finally arrives here in Australia early in 2017.

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