Tuesday 25th August 2015

Alfa Giulia QV 'ring chase vid special!

Leave the drive-by vids - here's the Giulia on a proper hot lap of the Nordschleife

---

Excitement and anticipation is still running very high for the Alfa Giulia QV; the looks and the mechanicals promise so much but the competition is tough and the track record hardly glowing. As the launch grows ever closer so we will see more of the car but here's our best look yet.

What do we have here then?

No longer do we have to make do with furtive industry pool test videos either, for now there's a whole lap filmed from a following car. And if the car looks familiar, that's because it's the SEAT Leon Cupra ST of PH contributor Dale Lomas, filming a video for his BridgeToGantry site. Well if there's one car and driver combo to keep up with a 500hp sports saloon...

It's unusual to see such an important prototype in a public session, but mixed weather during the day this video was taken forced many into taking later laps.

So what can we learn from this video? The speed is in no doubt, the Giulia pulling really hard up the significant climbs of the Nordschleife. It looks very controlled at the big Pflanzgarten compression but sadly we don't get to see it at Flugplatz. A few missed apices reveal some understeer at the limit (Brunnchen, for example) but it seems very neutral for the most part. Look elsewhere for a wildly oversteering lap!

Don't turn in too early at Brunnchen!

Talk of handling inevitably leads us to tyres and what the Giulia could be using. Dale's car is now fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s - more on that shortly - and comparable mid-corner speeds would suggest tyres similarly trick for the Alfa. Pirelli Trofeos perhaps, to represent the home team? You'll notice Dale mention in the video the car leaving chunks of rubber behind it. Intriguing...

Despite having to guess many of the details still, to have such prolonged exposure to the new Alfa is a real treat. It also looks jolly good fun, as you'll probably get from the clip. More details - or possibly another chase vid - as soon as we get them!

Watch the video here.
 

[Source: BridgeToGantry via YouTube]

 

[Djtemeka]

Seat driver is pretty damn good!

[Maldini35]

Impressive commentary whilst 'on it'

[the_hood]

You need to get your cracked windsreen sorted, fella

[iSore]

I think the Alfa driver was on the phone to his wife discussing dinner.

[gianlu]

ANORAK ALERT
the Alfa has a maserati trade plate (test plate/targa prova) rather than an Alfa one.

[useless info/]

[Ali_T]

It's not on sale for another 6 months, minimum, possibly longer. You can't really judge its handling from the inside of another car just yet.

[Lincslady]

Brilliant vid Dale,, chatting away whilst giving it some beans in the Leon. He didn't pull away as much as I expected up Kesselchen considering the difference in horsepower ! I always enjoy reading your content so a great pleasure to hear & see you on the screen for a change.
Hope to see you on PH TV soon 👍

[Jonesy23]

Looking at the state of the tyres, are they seriously under inflated or just under stupid amounts of load? That front one looks like its running on the sidewall and wants to come off the rim.

[Guvernator]

Great vid and I have to day great driving from the commentator. Is he a professional driver? If not they need to sack the Alfa test driver and give Dale the job, keeping up with the Alfa with a what 200bhp deficit is a some serious driving!

[iSore]

Lincslady said:

Brilliant vid Dale,, chatting away whilst giving it some beans in the Leon. He didn't pull away as much as I expected up Kesselchen considering the difference in horsepower

Probably because the Alfa driver wasn't actually trying............early on they pulled over to let Mr Seat past.

When I was at the ring a few years back, some Jaguar guys were there doing development work on a prototype XF and they weren't driving very quickly either but driving in a fairly restrained style and gathering data.

[Dale Lomas]

iSore said:

Probably because the Alfa driver wasn't actually trying............early on they pulled over to let Mr Seat past.

When I was at the ring a few years back, some Jaguar guys were there doing development work on a prototype XF and they weren't driving very quickly either but driving in a fairly restrained style and gathering data.

Well, he made quite a few mistakes and had the car over the limit for a lot of the lap. Look at the run from Hohe Acht until the end. Fast left before Hohe Acht, sideways on the power missed apex, Wipperman too quick in, too deep, no left apex, PF1 was typical oh-god-this-is-fast-turn-in-early. I would hardly call it not trying...

[Hamsternator]

gianlu said:

ANORAK ALERT
the Alfa has a maserati trade plate (test plate/targa prova) rather than an Alfa one.

[useless info/]

All Fiats so makes some sort of sense I suppose.

[trashbat]

Dale Lomas said:

Well, he made quite a few mistakes and had the car over the limit for a lot of the lap. Look at the run from Hohe Acht until the end. Fast left before Hohe Acht, sideways on the power missed apex, Wipperman too quick in, too deep, no left apex, PF1 was typical oh-god-this-is-fast-turn-in-early. I would hardly call it not trying...

It's all meaningless without the right context though isn't it. Until you engage someone - directly or implicitly - and you both go willingly into it at ten tenths to race or set a time, then there's no comparison or critique to be made. As long as you don't get into an accident, who cares how slow or sloppy you are until you're out there trying to prove something.

Nonetheless, nice video and nice driving - thanks for sharing.

[nedge2k]

Guvernator said:

Is he a professional driver?

Given the way he's using the steering wheel like a hacksaw, I'd suggest not...

[Ali_T]

Early on, he mentions it looks like the QV has stability assistance engaged. There's every possibility that this was a data gathering exercise for just that purpose, and not to race random Seats. They'll have had a set task list to get through on the lap and someone bugging them in a hot hatch probably doesn't make that very easy...

[iSore]

Dale Lomas said:

Well, he made quite a few mistakes and had the car over the limit for a lot of the lap. Look at the run from Hohe Acht until the end. Fast left before Hohe Acht, sideways on the power missed apex, Wipperman too quick in, too deep, no left apex, PF1 was typical oh-god-this-is-fast-turn-in-early. I would hardly call it not trying...

Or perhaps he was not a brilliant driver, or unfamiliar with the car and circuit and was just trying to get away from you? Early on he basically invited you to go past, but you clearly wanted to pressure the guy and have a race.

[urquattroGus]

Marchionne drops in for a visit and wants to do a lap !?

[dvs_dave]

Good vid a great commentary. More like this please! As for people saying the Alfa was not trying....come on now, be serious. Of course he was, it's bloody obvious. Dale was undoubtedly the better peddler which is how he managed to keep up. A better driver in the Alfa and this video would have just been a standard lap vid with the first 30 seconds featuring the Alfa walking away.

Although I can well imagine the Alfa engineering and test driving teams are mercilessly taking the piss out if each other over this....hahaha!

[iSore]

So the Alfa wasn't on a proper hot lap at all, then?

[Ali_T]

iSore said:

So the Alfa wasn't on a proper hot lap at all, then?

It's on test, which means the engineers woild be running through the daily tasks and data gathering. If they were doing a proper hot lap, they'd do it privately.