Alfa Romeo Giulia vs BMW M3 vs Mercedes C63 AMG

Italy has entered the super saloon fray with the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, and first impressions are good. It’s name may be a mouthful, but the car itself is playful, well balanced and hugely, hugely fast. This is Alfa demonstrating that it wants to run with the big dogs, and that means going head to head with the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63. Both of which have short, catchy names.

Now we know the price, too: in the UK, the Quadrioglio - the top-most Giulia (for now, at least) - will set you back a nice, round £59,000. That buys you leather and Alcantara on the inside, 19in wheels on the outside and the eight-speed automatic paddleshifter underneath. No manual gearbox for us Brits. It also buys you a ton of performance. But how do all of its numbers, price included, compare to those pesky German rivals?

It’ll be a few months before we can get a group test of these three together, so in the meantime we thought you might like to see how they stack up on paper. Here’s a comparo showing just how closely (or otherwise) Alfa Romeo has aligned the Giulia with its rivals from north of the Alps. And once you've digested the numbers, tell us which you want to drive most below...

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio: £59,000

BMW M3: £56,605 (£59,100 with automatic gearbox)

Mercedes-AMG C63: £60,700 (£66,820 for the more powerful C63 S)

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio: 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6

BMW M3: 3.0-litre, twin-turbo straight-six

Mercedes-AMG C63 S: 4.0-litre, biturbo V8

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio: 503bhp, 440lb ft

BMW M3: 425bhp, 405lb ft

Mercedes-AMG C63 S: 503bhp, 516lb ft

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio: eight-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

BMW M3: six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic (optional), rear-wheel drive

Mercedes-AMG C63 S: seven-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio: 198g/km CO2, 33mpg

BMW M3: 194g/km CO2, 34mpg (automatic gearbox)

Mercedes-AMG C63 S: 200g/km CO2, 32.8mpg

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio: 1,524kg

BMW M3: 1,560kg (automatic gearbox)

Mercedes-AMG C63 S: 1,730kg