Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Elicits Mixed Emotions on Ignition

Alfa Romeo brought out its first rear-wheel-drive sport sedan in 30 years, and Jason Cammisa has the enviable task of driving it on the latest episode of "Ignition." But on what should be a joyous occasion, Cammisa finds himself picking at the car's fatal flaw: its lack of a manual transmission.

After a proper mourning period, Cammisa gets behind the wheel of the Giulia Quadrifoglio and discovers it's not so bad. With a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-6 under the hood, the Alfaputs out a mighty 505 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque. The suspension, steering, and quiet ride deserve plenty of praise.And the scornedeight-speed? It's everything you could ask for in an automatic transmission.

No review of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio would be complete without pitting it against the benchmark of the compact sport sedan segment. "This is way closer to the M3 than I think I expected Alfa could pull off," Cammisa concluded.

To test these impressions against cold hard numbers, Cammisa handed over the Italian sedan to Randy Pobst. The SCCA Hall of Fame race car driver tested both the Giulia Quadrifoglio and the BMW M3 Competition Package to determine which is quicker around the track.

Check out the video below to find out if Cammisa can ever forgive Alfa Romeo for offering an automatic-only sport sedan.