Video: Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio laps the Nürburgring in 7:32

Alfa Romeo’s long overdue rival to the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C 63, the Giulia Quadrifoglio, is once again proving that it’s up to the challenge. Powered by an all-aluminium six-cylinder 2.9-litre turbo petrol engine serving up 510hp (380kW) and 600Nm to the rear wheels, the sports sedan previously lapped the Nürburgring in 7 minutes and 39 seconds with a six-speed manual gearbox.

This time Alfa Romeo returned to the ‘ring with the eight-speed automatic version. Steered by test driver Fabio Francia, it recorded a super quick lap time of 7 minutes 32 seconds. That’s even faster than the Porsche Panamera Turbo’s time of 7 minutes 38 seconds.

The Giulia Quadrifoglio is said to be the fastest sports sedan in its class. Tuned with input from Ferrari engineers, the Giulia Quadrifoglio storms from rest to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds. Bringing the car to a halt from the same speed will take only 32 metres.

Taking the brand back into the premium compact executive segment, the Giulia Quadrifoglio is based on key ingredients of the Alfa Romeo technical architecture, including 50/50 weight balance and rear-wheel drive.

The Giulia Quadrifoglio retails at  €79,000 in its native Italy and is scheduled to arrive in Australia in mid 2017.

Watch the Giulia Quadrifoglio tears up the Nürburgring in the video below.