Alfa Romeo, a car brand from Italy, has been familiar to everyone since it officially entered the Chinese market in 2017. Although the brand currently only sells two products in China, namely Giulia, which is positioned as a mid-size car, and Stelvio, which is positioned as a mid-size SUV, in order to meet the driving needs of users for high-performance vehicles, the performance versions of these two models, that is, the four-leaf clover model, are also on sale.
The price of the giulia ordinary version of the top model is 439,800 yuan, while the price of the four-leaf clover version is 979,800 yuan; the difference between the top model of the Stelvio ordinary version and the four-leaf clover model also has a difference of 470,000 yuan. So, what exactly makes users willingly spend an extra 500,000 yuan to own a four-leaf clover model? Let's go to the track and find the answer together.
Alfa Romeo Giulia four-leaf clover model
Alfa Romeo Stelvio four-leaf clover model
Before officially talking to you about the track experience, let's first introduce what a four-leaf clover model is. In fact, Alfa Romeo's track gene has been integrated into its brand spirit at the beginning of the brand's establishment. From 1910 to the present, in the past 120 years, Alfa Romeo has won a total of 576 manufacturer championships, but at first the team lost frequently in the races, and the team's main driver, Ugo Sivocci, always finished second or third in the race, and never won the championship.
RL-Targa-Florio race car driven by Hugo Sloch
The GP Tipo 158 "Alfetta" car, which won the first F1 race
However, in order to make himself more lucky, Hugo put the four-leaf clover logo on the car and immediately won the championship. Since then, the Four Leaf Clover has been frequently seen in Alfa Romeo's cars. Giulia and Stelvio, with their four-leaf clover badges, rightfully got Alfa Romeo's track tuning and racing genes.
Since it is a track experience, the test drive venue is also introduced to you. Shanghai Tianma Mountain Circuit has a total length of 2.063 kilometers, with a total of 14 corners, and the continuous turning in the second half of the track tests the dynamic adjustment of the vehicle in the corner. However, the length of the straight-line high-speed area of this track is average, and it is possible that the four-leaf clover version of the model cannot use its power to the extreme.
So what track genes do the four-leaf clover versions of Giulia and Stelvio have? A high-performance power unit is a must, with the two clover models using the same powertrain, both powered by a 2.9-litre V6 twin-turbo engine with a maximum power of 510 hp and a peak torque of 600 Nm, with a drivetrain mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission from ZF. At the same time, both models are equipped with Alfa active suspension, Alfa DNA Pro driving mode switching knob with RACE track mode, etc., which can enhance the driving pleasure of the vehicle on the track.
Of course, a strong "heart" must be equipped with a pair of excellent performance "running shoes" in order to exert its abundant power. The four-leaf clover version of the model uses a semi-hot melt tire from Pirelli's P ZERO CORSA, which is also the first choice for many performance cars. The two letters "AR" on the tires represent Pirelli's specially tuned and matched products for Alfa Romeo models to ensure the best performance of the vehicle.
High-performance cars must not only be able to run fast, but also stand, so the braking system is also very critical for the performance model. The four-leaf clover version of the braking system uses six-piston front-facing and four-piston brake calipers, and the brake discs are also perforated to make it more effective.
In addition, there are some aerodynamic designs that also lay the foundation for the four-leaf clover version to perform better on the track. For example, giulia's four-leaf clover version is at the bottom of the front surround, equipped with alfa active carbon fiber air shunt plate, when the manifold is in the open state, it can provide 100 kg of downforce to the front of the car, which can make the vehicle have higher stability when driving intensely. The large size of the diffuser at the rear of the car can also bring more stable air flow to the rear.
The two four-leaf clover models also do a lot of homework in lightweighting, and a large amount of carbon fiber material is used in the interior, which makes a certain contribution to weight reduction. Even the position of the roof is not spared, and the same carbon fiber material is used to reduce the weight of the body.
Driving the Four Leafy On the Track confirmed my initial suspicions. The four-leaf clover model is quite powerful, and to describe it as a "grumpy beast", I don't think it is too much at all. Driving them on the Pegasus Mountain track will even feel a little overpowered. When you're sprinting through the straight line in the starting area with all your might, the car hasn't yet reached its 510 horsepower and is about to start slowing down and getting ready for Turn 1.
However, the dynamic performance of the vehicle in the corners allows you to personally experience the Italian performance tuning, which has its unique charm. The first is the chassis setting, which can give you a lot of confidence in the corners, the suspension supports the body very well, and the rear is very flexible, but it does not make you feel difficult to control, and can give you a feeling that everything is under control.
But because of the strong power, you must control your right foot, if the oil is opened too early in the bend or the throttle is too large, the strong power will be immediately transmitted to the driving wheels, coupled with the power layout of the front and rear drive, the flexible rear will immediately swing up, if it can be controlled, you can make a drifting posture, but if the control is not good, maybe there will be a phenomenon of loss of control in the track. However, if you try the performance and limits of the four-leaf clover model a little bit, it will give you a very fun driving experience.
In terms of direction adjustment, the four-leaf clover model is also set very interesting, and the tuning method originating from Italy will give you richer steering feedback, and every slight adjustment in the corner can feel its correction of the route. This delicate, flexible steering tuning brings you more pure driving pleasure without losing accuracy.
The above driving experience even the Stelvio four-leaf clover version of the SUV model has the same performance. The main difference between the two cars, in addition to the weakening of the sense of speed due to the high sitting posture, the power, direction and chassis, etc., are basically not much different from the Giulia four-leaf clover version, which is also agility and flexible dynamic performance, but it makes you feel that everything is under control.
Francesco Polistena, Head of Vehicle Project, Stellantis Group China
At the track day, Francesco Polistena, Head of vehicle projects at Stellantis Group China, explained the "secret" of the four-leaf clover model in performance tuning. Just like we felt on the track, the unique driving experience of the Alfa Romeo Four-Leaf clover model is derived from the brand's long-term track experience, and through the suspension system and steering system, it has formed the current performance characteristics.
In Alfa Romeo's design concept for performance vehicles, the lateral dynamics of the vehicle (that is, the cornering characteristics) are the core of the dynamic performance of the vehicle. Then applied to the suspension, chassis and steering adjustment level, engineers will mainly monitor the vehicle's lateral G value in the corner, through the continuous optimization of the above system, so that the vehicle can have a higher lateral G value within the corner limit; and the steering response speed is set more quickly, which can allow the vehicle to make rapid adjustments to the instantaneous body dynamics in the corner, so as to obtain faster cornering speed.
Full text summary:
Through this track day experience, the "right start" of the Alfa Romeo Four Leafy Clover model should be at the speedway, where you can feel the pure driving pleasure that Italian tuning can bring. As a performance car, the surging power I think is only a threshold, and it is more important to have excellent corner performance in the track and better control in the corners. The four-leaf clover model can give you a more satisfactory answer in these aspects.
(The mini program has been added here, please go to the Chedi client to view)