The Mazda-Alfa arb trade is heating up.
No emergency appliance purchases so far this month.
The votes have been counted, the shortlist has been set and now you’re looking at the five cars likeliest to be revered collectibles in 50 years’ time, as decided by the Autocar-Beaulieu Future Classics competition.
Rarity alone doesn't make something a future classic, but it sure helps. What sealed the deal for the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio’s invitation to our winners’ circle is that it’s one of the most soulful cars on sale today. It is utterly sublime to drive, it is a car whose like we don’t see often and it is simply adored by those who love it.
Any BMW M3 is great, but there have been lots of M3s in the past and there will probably be a better, quicker one in a year or two. In contrast, after decades of great-looking but disappointing cars, the Giulia was intended to be the first product of a reinvigorated Alfa Romeo. To find the last truly great Alfa before it, you probably need to go back to the Giulia of the 1960s and 1970s. And as for the next truly great Alfa? Who knows?
The Giulia’s bespoke rear-wheel-drive Giorgio platform reportedly cost more than £4 billion and was meant to underpin a number of future cars. Alas, electrification caught up with it and it will die with the current generation of models, so we’re not going to see anything like the Giulia again. As Alfa goes electric, there will no doubt be future Quadrifoglio models, but something with the same (relatively) light weight and such an engaging powertrain is unlikely.
Aside from the uniqueness of the Giulia Quadrifoglio, well, just look at it. It exudes purpose but without resorting to needlessly aggressive chew-your-face-off styling. It would be a future classic simply as a static object – except it’s even better to drive than it is to look at.
You might not have thought so during the past two years’ staycations, but Britain is a lot like Italy. Not so much for the weather but because of the lamentable state of the roads. The result is that cars developed in Italy often work well in the UK. And indeed, the Giulia Quadrifoglio rides with an eerie serenity on uneven asphalt.
That’s not even the best thing about it, though. Tip it into a fast bend with the ultra-quick but laser-precise steering (which does take some getting used to) and it responds by starting to yaw slightly. Not in a disconcerting way but by feeling hyper-agile and signalling that it’s up for anything. Incidentally, the Alpine A110, also on this list, does a similar thing. Almost all modern performance cars suffer from being too serious: you have to go too fast for the road to really get to know their character. This Alfa reveals itself earlier and with more honesty.
In most of the areas in which you would judge an executive saloon, the Giulia is outclassed by the BMW 3 Series. But who will care about that in 2070? The Giulia Quadrifoglio is rare, unrepeatable and brilliant to drive. Most important of all, though, it gets under your skin very quickly and makes itself right at home.
Autocar and Beaulieu name their top five Future Classics | Autocar