First there was the Giulia, then the Stelvio came along with added ground clearance and crossover appeal. The modern Alfa Romeo family has been long in the making, and for a change, both of the compact-sized models infused with Ferrari know-how have taken to the “world's greatest driving road" to show their craft.
Made famous in the Western world by Top Gear a few years ago, the Transfagarasan Highway in Romania is a fitting place to test the handling capabilities of the Giulia and Stelvio. Underpinned by a platform that was developed from the get-go to reward the discerning driver, both Alfa Romeo models don’t look out of place on the 90-kilometer stretch of curvy road.
While the 1:20 video uploaded by Alfa Romeo on YouTube shows the Transfagarasan Highway as a wonderful stretch of tarmac without any traffic whatsoever, the truth of the matter is that it’s very, very congested. The most cram-full period is the summer, but even the spring and fall see the two-lane road in the Carpathian Mountains busy with cars, semi trucks, and caravaners.
Even the Stelvio Pass in Italy, which the Stelvio crossover is named after, is a busy hellhole for drivers interested in driving hard and kicking the tail out in tight hairpin corners. But for what it’s worth, one can profit from a traffic-free Transfagarasan Highway (and Stelvio Pass) provided that the timing is perfect.
Very late in the evening, at night or after sunrise, that’s the time to start attacking Romania’s best driving road with the best Alfa Romeo has to offer. And boy, do the Giulia and Stelvio offer a lot in Quadrifoglio specification.
Animated by a 2.9L TT V6 loosely derived from the V8 in the Ferrari California, you can bet your sweet bippy the newest Alfa Romeo models of them all are immensely exciting in pedal-to-the-metal mode. Both on the road and track.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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