Pro driver Randy Pobst hot laps the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for Motor Trend's 2017 Best Driver's Car.
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00:00 (engine revving)
00:02 The punchy and potent Giulia was the only four-door
00:10 at this year's Best Driver's Car, no matter,
00:13 as it really is a sedan that drives like a sports car.
00:16 The 2.9 liter twin turbo V6,
00:19 essentially a Ferrari V8 with two cylinders cleaved off,
00:23 produces a potent 505 horsepower,
00:26 which is then sent to the rear wheels
00:28 via a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission.
00:30 By now, we're all aware of how great
00:32 this torque vectoring Italian drives on the street.
00:34 Let's see what Randy makes of it on the track.
00:36 (engine revving)
00:39 (engine revving)
00:45 (tires squealing)
00:48 (engine revving)
00:51 (engine revving)
00:54 (engine revving)
00:57 (engine revving)
01:00 (tires squealing)
01:07 (engine revving)
01:12 (engine revving)
01:26 (engine revving)
01:29 (engine revving)
01:40 (engine revving)
01:53 (engine revving)
02:23 - This Alfa is quick.
02:25 (engine revving)
02:27 What a four-door.
02:31 What defines the Alfa for me
02:33 is its handling changes a little bit.
02:36 It has a real racy feel.
02:38 It's a lot of fun, it's fast,
02:41 but I gotta say I'm not a big fan of the variation.
02:45 I don't like it when one moment
02:47 I have this really good steering response,
02:49 and the other moment I have a pretty big understeer,
02:53 and the front kinda dies.
02:54 Also, the braking was doing something similar.
02:57 It takes a fair amount of pedal effort.
02:58 It's not a system that seems to bang home
03:01 with just two toes.
03:02 There's that little bit of variation
03:04 that I think is electronic things operating,
03:08 not stability control, maybe.
03:10 A very racy, very sporty family sedan
03:14 that is tempered just a little bit
03:15 by the fact that things change.
03:18 It's not super consistent.
03:21 And I love the grill.
03:24 (laughs)
03:26 The Alfa's lap time is basically
03:27 where we expected it to be.
03:29 One minute, 39.65 seconds puts it ahead
03:32 of performance sedans like the BMW M3
03:35 and the Cadillac ATS-V,
03:37 but behind big brawlers like the CTS-V.
03:40 All of us loved the Giulia's laser-sharp steering,
03:44 ample forward thrust, and sports car reflexes.
03:47 While sixth place may not seem like much to some people,
03:50 if you examine the five cars
03:51 that placed higher in our competition,
03:53 you'll see that sixth is quite the victory
03:56 for a four-door from Alfa Romeo.
03:58 (car engine roars)
04:01 (car engine roars)
04:04 (car engine roars)
04:07 (car engine roars)
04:10 (explosion)