One less question mark now hangs over the 375kW four-door rear-drive M3 and C63 S rival that is the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV – it will officially cost $143,900 plus on-road costs.

Alfa Romeo’s comeback kid squeezes between the BMW M3 ($139,615) and M3 Competition ($144,615), but its 3.9sec 0-100km/h claim even beats the latter by a tenth. The Giulia QV more substantially undercuts the Mercedes-AMG C63 S ($155,615) and it will take buying the coupe version of that model ($162,115) to match its performance claim.

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The eight-speed auto-only Italian isn’t barren, either, with 19-inch forged alloys, bi-xenon adaptive headlights with auto high-beam, active cruise control, leather/Alcantara electrically adjustable front seats and 14-speaker Harman Kardon audio with 8.8-inch sat-nav and infotainment screen.

A DNA Pro toggle also acts on the class-first active aerodynamics with adjustable front splitter, torque vectoring system, electronic stability control (ESC), steering weight, engine and gearbox response and multi-mode suspension.

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While thereabouts pricing to The Establishment could be a plucky move for a ‘challenger’ brand that has been in the wilderness – particularly one that will need to win a reputation for reliability and resale – 100 customers have already signed up to buy a Giulia QV.

Considering Alfa Romeo only sold 711 cars last year, it’s a healthy head start.