In the world of high-performance European sedans there’s some impressive cars, expensive yes, but for the well-heeled enthusiast there’s some great offerings like Alfa Romeo’s Giulia Quadrifoglio sedan at $143,500.

There’s five Giulia models starting at $63,950 for the 2.0-litre Giulia Sport. The range topping Giulia Quadrifoglio or Q for short, quite simply one of the most impressive cars I’ve driven – a lightweight compact Alfa Romeo sedan with a Ferrari-derived 2.9-litre twin-turbo 375kW V6 driving the rear wheels through a ZF eight-speed automatic.

With stunning wide 19-inch alloy wheels, bold body elements, monster brakes with bright red calipers and a quad exhaust it lives up to its aggressive appearance with a staggering performance level. Last year’s update brought an upgraded interior, and more driver assist technology adding to the adaptive electronic ‘Alfa Active” suspension and Alfa DNA Pro drive modes which as you’d expect include a race mode.

And there’s a torque vectoring system to better get the massive 600 Nm of torque to the road with a minimum of fuss. This really is an out and out performance car for the discerning enthusiast. Individual, distinctive and yes expensive. Warranty, a disappointment at just 3 year/150,000 km’s and service costs expensive but if you can afford one I guess that’s not a concern.

The drive experience next segment.

I’m David Berthon.

Click PLAY to listen!

Download this podcast here