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Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Utterly Roasts Cadillac ATS-V In Drag Race: Video

The 2017 Cadillac ATS-V is beginning to show its age, we’d say. Not only has it missed the mark in many comparison tests as of recent, it’s also not nearly as quick as when it arrived on the scene years ago.

Since then, an Italian has been spoiling the party. Not just for Cadillac, either. The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio has been busy taking names since it arrived on the scene. But, how about in a straight line?

In the video above, The Giulia Quadrifoglio lines up with a Cadillac ATS-V and BMW M3 Competition for good measure. The question is this: is the Alfa downright quick or does it make up its time in the corners? The answer is, yes, it’s really quick and it’s also quite good in the corners.

The Alfa pulls away from the ATS-V and Bimmer after just a few seconds. The ATS-V becomes a defacto camera car for a reason: it sits pretty far back in the pack for the duration of the race. Taking down the ATS-V isn’t much of a surprise, though, the Cadillac is way down on power compared to the Alfa. Taking down the M3 Competition, though, that’s an impressive feat.

You can read more banter at our sister site Fiat-Chrysler Authority. They love the Alfa over there. Though, we kind of do, too.

Former GM Authority staff writer.

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Comments

  1. Ats v 464 hp 63,000
    Alfa 505 hp 73,000

    Ten grand for 40 more ponies!

    Not sure this is killing the competition.

    I’ll ask the question again, should these mags be testing cars that have similar cost or simply performance?

    Reply
    1. Performance. Cad is now a performance outfit now, no?

      Reply
    2. no but sounds about right, ATS-V 464hp 63000, Guilia 505HP at 73000, CTS-V 640HP at 85000. ponies for price are about equal and fair. We will see what the refresh does. right now everyone is finally catching up to Cadillac just to see them blow out the completion next year.

      Reply
  2. One also must remember the ATS is a old model waiting for replacement so this is not really a shocker. Cadillac will leap frog back as will Alfa if the are still around.

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  3. This is what happens when you sit on your laurels and forget that the good continue to develop their products as Cadillac has done absolutely NOTHING with the LF4 or Cadillac ATS-V since it’s introduction as this is another indictment of the poor job by Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen and another reason for why GM CEO Mary Barra should fire de Nysschen.

    Reply
    1. First off you must consider it takes 5 years to do a major redo of a product. JDN is not only doing one but nearly all their product.

      Do what does that mean we’ll that means only minor refresh thing will happen till tn new product arrives. Do sense in feeding a dead horse so the investment is going to the new product.

      As we can see you have no idea of time lines of a product revamp. At this point not enough time for any JDN product has gone by yet.

      It is ok to hate the man based on his product but you have to let him get his product out. What we have now all as pretty much done be fore he arrived.

      Reply
  4. And replace him with who? You!

    You can judge him when the next version of all of the cars and trucks come out!

    Reply
  5. Cadillac was never meant to be a sports car, it’s a classic American luxury brand. STOP with the BMW imitation and return to making actual Cadillacs. If GM wants to compete as a “sports” brand, break out Corvette as a separate brand.

    Cadillac management today is in charge of a confused luxury/sports hybrid that excels at nothing, except declining sales. People who want true Cadillacs are disappointed in the cramped hard non-luxury ride, people who want “sports” cars go elsewhere. STOP the insanity.

    Reply
    1. To ask Cadillac to stop trying to compete with the Germans, is to ask Cadillac to stop trying to top the luxury car game.

      Reply
      1. Curtnik – as I said, if GM wants to have a “sporty” brand to compete with the Germans, they should break out Corvette as a separate brand. They should not ruin Cadillac and try it make it something it was never meant to be, simply to chase what is likely a temporary fad that will soon end.

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    2. You’re so lost Brian. All of your comments disliking Cadillac’s direction of being a sport-luxury brand are so off the mark and so out of touch with reality that I don’t even know where to start in replying to them.

      Reply
  6. You don’t remember the Cadillacs with 500 cubic inch big blocks?

    You don’t remember the Cadillac STS with Northstar v8?

    CTS-V with the lsx engines over the years

    Neither one of those cars were for cruising slow down the highway or local streets!

    I could go on!

    The point is that Cadillac does have a history of having fast cars threw out Cadillacs history.

    Reply
    1. Brian, classic Cadillacs have always been strongly powered, as they should be. The exceptions included the Cimarron, which was meant to compete with “the imports” and was cramped and underpowered (but got decent gas milage, as if that were important to Cadillac owners).

      The change has been to try to give these cars hard race-car suspensions, so that someone can take a sharp turn at 90 mph. That might make sense on the Autobahn, not so much on the long straight and not-so-perfectly-maintained American roads.

      But yes, give me a Cadillac with a big V8 or a smooth turbo. Unfortunately the BMW-followers at Cadillac are scaling those back. No engine for the XTS compares to the V8 Northstar of the DTS. The CT6 base engine is weak and noisy.

      The only thing Cadillac needed to change about their history was reliability. That’s why Lexus passed them from 2000-2010. But there was nothing wrong with making roomy, smooth riding, powerfully engined, boldly styled cars as they had been doing. Leave the tight cornering at 90 MPH to the Germans.

      Reply
      1. You’re still missing the point. it’s not about “hard race suspensions”.

        You know why the 3 series is held in such high regard? Why it sells so well? Why it started the the sport-luxury car idea?

        BECAUSE IT IS THE PERFECT BLEND OF COMFORT AND SPORTY DRIVING EXPERIENCE.

        That has become a universally agreed-upon standard in automotive luxury transportation, prompting others including Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, Lexus, Hyundai/Genesis, Acura, Infiniti, Volvo, Alfa Romeo, and yes – Cadillac to chase after them. And I my opinion, Cadillac does it better (in some cases).

        So no it is not about hard suspensions or racing (although that is the ultimate expression of these cars). It’s about delivering the perfect blend of sport and luxury, and it’s something the ATS, CTS, and CT6 deliver really on, as well.

        The sooner you begin to understand that, the sooner you’ll feel at peace.

        Reply
        1. “Silent”, you call the BMW 3-series “the perfect blend” of sports and luxury. And you name a long list of car companies trying for that same “perfect blend” in a car. Guess what? That market is faddish and already saturated, and there’s no need for Cadillac to compete in it. And when they do, as they’ve tried on and off for over 36 years, sales are terrible of those cars and they hurt their own brand.

          Also realize that not everyone wants “the perfect blend” of sports and luxury car, just as not everyone wants “the perfect blend” of a fast airplane and a luxury yacht. Sure you can try to balance the two, but you’ll never get the best of either one. Not even close.

          Cadillac dominated the US luxury auto space for the 20th century with real American luxury values (roomy seating, smooth/plush riding, strongly-powered, luxury interiors, modern electronics, brash exterior styling), not cramped, hard-riding German-wannabe “sports drive” values. In the first decade of the 21st century, Lexus dominated the space by offering essentially American luxury values plus the reliability that was seen as lacking at Cadillac.

          Ironically, one of the reasons Cadillac was viewed as unreliable was due to pursuing some German values at the end of the century, such as the Catera (a car entirely designed and built in Germany, given a Cadillac badge, a stupid and hated car very unreliable), and the problematic V8-6-4 engine, an attempt at both power and better miles per gallon. And of course their was the Cimarron, Cadillac’s first attempt to compete with a BMW 3-series – the brand is still trying to live that down, three and a half decades later. They never should have attempted to market a car that wasn’t a real Cadillac.

          It’s only been in the past 6 years that German “sport sedans” have dominated luxury in the USA. I call that a fad which will fade, just like the current “low profile” tires are a fad that will fade very quickly, when people realize the harsh ride and maintenance problems they engender. Sure some old rich guys think they can “look young” by driving a car with “performance” that they do not need. But when that fails to impress the young women, they’ll be back to driving classic luxury, the heck with the “performance” side of things.

          Face it, the average commuter and highway cruiser does not need to take sharp turns at 90 MPH. What they ultimately want is to get from here to there in comfort and style. Today they are sacrificing comfort in order to get “style”, the faddish “style” of the “performance”, “low profile tire” type. Yes, today’s “performance” cars are actually a “style” for most buyers, because they don’t actually use the performance part. It’s like having a rear spoiler on the car, that is just a decoration, not something that is actually useful to the driver with his particular driving habits.

          Eventually – and very soon I believe – as the population further ages and has the inevitable back and joint problems, they’ll realize how silly the “performance luxury” fad is, and they’ll realize that no one thought they were particularly “cool” to have that car, any more than a 60-something guy wasn’t “cool” just because he had a Corvette Stingray.

          When the “sport luxury” fad is over and there’s a return to just “American luxury”, where will Cadillac be positioned? If it upholds its credentials as a brand that was the leader of the American luxury segment, it will be in the sweet spot and dominate sales once again. If it’s seen as a German-sport-wannabe, it will do even worse than BMW in the 20th century, when it was an also-ran offering a type of car that very few people wanted. In the meantime, Cadillac should not only be embracing American luxury but SELLING it to the public, instead of acting embarrassed by it and pretending to be German, hiring only foreign executives for the top jobs, etc.

          Reply
          1. I’d say a perfect example of this is Volvo. Their performance division is quite lacking, but people still crave their cars for comfort and luxury. And their new designs are simple and tasteful, yet very appealing.

            Also, the caddy XT5 is all over the place. This shows that consumers are willing to part with their cash for a cadillac even if it’s a run of the mill v6 FWD (or FWD-based AWD) SUV, provided it’s spacious and comfortable. JDN knows this is the winning formula to get some cash. Unfortunately, it’s not a huge enthusiast car.

            Reply
            1. “This shows that consumers are willing to part with their cash for a cadillac even if it’s a run of the mill v6 FWD (or FWD-based AWD) SUV, provided it’s spacious and comfortable.”

              No they’re not. Not for that segment. The XT5 is midsize but priced like a compact CUV because nobody’s paying GLE/X5-tier money for a Lexus RX competitor.

              Not many people are paying over 60k for a XT5, and JDN knows THAT.

              At a certain price point, people will expect their ride to drive like something special. The XT5 is nothing special.

              Reply
    2. I drive a DeVille with 113k and moves quite well I love it. Have owned two Eldos one with 500 CI virtually indestructible. I agree about atsv but all performance cars are in a death spiral. Evidently Cadillac has blinked and are hesitant, sales stink! Although, I have priced used cts v and prices are high! My focus has moved from caddy to Chevrolet everyone loves Camaro , but sales spiral ugh! Caddy is on a short pier with performance. Figures 2016: sports/ performance 400k units; suv/crossover: 6,700,000 units.

      Reply
      1. Terrence,

        You are my hero. Please tell me about your DeVille. I retired mine last year. I have a CTS and dislike it more each time I drive it. I’m looking for a DeVille now. I miss my car so much!

        Reply
  7. the caddy had almost flat tire and not in race mode

    Reply
  8. This video shows why they should’ve used the LT1 engine. It’s Time the world realizes you just can’t compete with a small block Chevy.

    Reply
    1. GM did use the LT1 it’s in the camaro! Some of you guys are never satisfied! If Cadillac uses the same engines as chevy they get killed by guys like you, if Cadillac uses its own engines it’s not good enough!

      464 hp was good enough when the ats v came out and I am sure Cadillac will take it to the next level!

      Reply
      1. Camaro SS is not in the video. I would never kill Cadillac for using Chevy engines.

        Reply
        1. Plenty of people do! Plus most people just want a V8 in the ats so they can mod it cheaper.

          GM is smart not to give customers that option, cuz then why would people buy the ats v

          Reply
  9. Perfect, now it is not only the ugliest and most boring car, but also the slowest.

    Reply
    1. HAHA YES! ATS-V is just hideous. When it first came out, my wife thought it was an older model, since it looked so clunky. Good riddance Welburn!

      Also, that bimmer is a real looker. I pass a couple M3/M4’s on my way to work every day, and they really command attention. Nice colors, great shape, sexy exhaust note.

      Reply
  10. I spent a month driving the Caddy, right size to do something special, but needs two years at Holden Special Vehicle and then it will be something special, till then well its just American, with all those issues

    Reply
  11. So Cadillac is a drag race car now? What a waste. There are much better choices for that. Cadillac should stick to what they knew best, to carry people in glorious luxury (my sister had a mid 70’s Coupe de Ville, 500 cu in). A real factory drag car had radio and heater delete, the Super Bee 6 pack didn’t even come with hubcaps on the black steel wheels. Luxury cars should be, well, just that, luxurious, if you want a performance car, buy that instead.

    Reply
  12. My question is, how many engine parts did the alfa retain by the end of the day?

    Reply

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