Watch the BMW M4 Competition Take on the Giulia Quadrifoglio

The sport sedan segment isn’t exactly burgeoning these days, but it’s still home to lots of exciting cars – both in and outside the BMW family. In a new video from Edmunds, the M4 Competition goes up against another staple in the segment- the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. But Edmunds does their drag races with a bit of a twist; it’s more than just a straight-line test. The two cars have to complete a quarter-mile race, make a 180-degree turn, and do it all again. This tests the car’s braking capabilities as well as its straight-line speed.

The video starts by reviewing specs on the two competitors. The Giulia Quadrifoglio makes 505 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque from its twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6. The M4’s twin-turbo inline-six makes similar power: 503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet. When it comes to wheels and tires, the Alfa sticks to a mildly staggered setup, wearing 245/35/ZR19 front and 285/30/ZR19 rear tires. Meanwhile, the M4 runs 275/35/ZR19 tires in the front and 285/30/ZR20 tires in the rear. No doubt about it: this should be a close race.

Or, at least that’s what the similar spec sheets foreshadow. But in the end, the much more advanced BMW M4 Competition takes the win – and it isn’t really all that close. The G82 M4, of course, does have a few years of engineering advancements over the Alfa, which hasn’t received meaningful updates since a light refresh 2020. Notably, the M4 is also the only competitor with a bona fide launch control function – something that probably hampers the rear-wheel drive Giulia Quadrifoglio quite a bit.

I quite enjoyed the driving the Giulia Quadrifoglio a few years ago, and aside from some interior quality quibbles and a reputation for unreliability, I maintain that it’s a solid – and perhaps better feeling – alternative to the M3 and M4. After all, lap times and drag races aren’t everything. But there’s no way to fight the results – the G82 M4 is clearly a much quicker car when it comes to these kinds of tests.