Alfa Romeo just figured out what its customers really crave
Around 200 journalists from 15 countries went to Varano de' Melegari to find out what Alfa Romeo is really up to. And the brand has prepared something for buyers too.
Alfa Romeo increasingly behaves as if it's selling not cars, but adrenaline. At the Italian Varano de' Melegari circuit, the brand gathered the European press for its Driving Academy — some 200 journalists from 15 countries came to find out what the Italians had prepared this time. And they got nearly everything: from the Junior and Tonale to the Giulia, Stelvio and the hot Quadrifoglio versions.
This was no ordinary test drive, the kind where you cruise the perimeter and jot down a few impressions. Journalists were taught how to set up their seating position correctly, how to lap with a professional instructor, how to work with a car on a GT track and — the most interesting part — how to break down their own telemetry after each session. Using the Giulia Quadrifoglio, they made a simple point that's usually forgotten. Speed isn't only about horsepower. It's about the precision of braking, steering and throttle work. Everything else is an illusion.
And now for the curious part. Alfa Romeo is preparing two offers for customers — and both are tied to that same circuit.
The first is the Quadrifoglio Driving Experience for buyers of the new Giulia Quadrifoglio and Stelvio Quadrifoglio. They're promised a day at Varano de' Melegari with instructors from the Alfa Romeo Driving Academy, which operates under Scuderia de Adamich. The programme will also include a separate session behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo Tonale.
The second offer is broader and aimed at every new customer of the brand. Any Alfa Romeo buyer will be eligible for special terms on the Advanced Driving course at the Varano academy: safety drills, work on a wet surface, emergency and modulated braking, instructor-led laps and telemetry analysis. The programme is crowned by the reason alone to come here — a test drive of the Giulia Quadrifoglio and Alfa Romeo 4C. Yes, that very same carbon-fibre sports car with a dry weight under 900 kilograms.