New Alfa Romeo Stelvio spy shots show SUV will be bigger and sportier than ever
The Next generation of Alfa’s flagship SUV has been seen out on test
This is our first official look at the all-new Alfa Romeo Stelvio, as the brand’s flagship SUV gets in shape for its world debut towards the end of this year.
As before, the Italian model will take the fight to the BMW X3 and Audi Q5 – but it’s also set to challenge the latest wave of premium electric SUVs, because for the first time there will be an EV version.
The second-generation Stelvio is currently being assessed in extreme weather conditions, including minus 30 degree temperatures in northern Sweden. And an even more daunting test is still to come, because Alfa will soon subject it to more than 1,500 hours on various tracks, including the company’s famous Balocco proving ground in Italy.
Based on these first pictures, the new Stelvio will be considerably longer than its predecessor and have an even more rakish roofline, without crossing into full coupé-SUV territory. Up front, Alfa Romeo’s iconic ‘Scudetto’ grille will feature, in between what looks to be long daytime running lights, with a complex signature, that wrap around the car’s nose and nearly onto the front wings.
This will be the third Alfa SUV in as many years, but unlike the Tonale and Junior, which both run on older, less sophisticated underpinnings, the Stelvio will take advantage of the Stellantis Group’s very latest STLA Large platform, allowing for a far more ambitious package as a result, including the choice of hybrid or pure-electric powertrains.
The brand’s head of marketing and communication, Cristiano Fiorio, is also promising the new Stelvio will be able to go toe-to-toe with rivals when it comes to technology. He told us: “I feel that sometimes we might perceive that there was still a gap on technology, on ADAS and on some other things [in the outgoing Stelvio and Giulia].
“But I think that these two new products fill any gap that there was with our competitors, so we are ready to play the game with all our weapons.”
New Alfa Romeo Stelvio design
As this is an Alfa Romeo, the Stelvio’s design will be of utmost importance – and the company knows it. Design boss Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos told Auto Express earlier this year: “We are lucky in Alfa Romeo that the design is super-important, and so this is something that we can win. That’s because our company sells cars that people choose because of design.”
As Mesonero-Romanos pointed out, designing a car with an electric powertrain isn’t straightforward, with new packaging requirements presenting fresh challenges. “Some people think that because we don’t have air intakes or combustion engines that we have free rein,” he said. “This is not true. We have even more constraints than IC [internal-combustion] cars.”
As our exclusive images here show, the new Stelvio will take inspiration from some of Alfa’s more eccentric previous models, without being an obvious retro pastiche. One such car is the iconic SZ coupé from the Nineties, which was known as ‘Il Mostro’ (The Monster) because of its awkward proportions.
Mesonero-Romanos added: “The SZ is inspiring because of its character and its brutality, not its beauty. This is very inspiring to us. There are so many influences from lots of Alfa Romeos, but the challenge is to choose the right ones, in the right car and at the right moment, but not to be too retro.”
Power of choice for customers
STLA Large is a ‘multi-energy’ platform, meaning it’s been designed to accommodate both internal-combustion engines and pure-electric powertrains. Originally, the new Stelvio – and the next Giulia saloon due in 2026 that will use the same architecture – were set to be EV-only. However Alfa Romeo CEO Santo Ficili has now confirmed hybridised petrol engines will also be available in both.
Speaking to Auto Express following this announcement, Alfa Romeo product manager Mario Lamagna told us: “Since the beginning, the new Stelvio and Giulia have been conceived and developed with a multi-energy platform, so we had in the plans the flexibility. Until 2035, flexibility is key in the automotive world and we want the customers to choose.”
In regards to the electric Stelvio, which is likely to be called the Stelvio Elettrica and will be arriving first, the STLA Large platform can support battery sizes between 85kWh and 115kWh, single or dual-motor set-ups, and either a 400V or 800V electrical system. The latter allows for ultra-rapid charging speeds, and with the largest battery possible fitted, we could see up to 485 miles of range.
New Stelvio Quadrifoglio is coming
It’s currently unclear which engines will be used in the new Stelvio, or what level of hybrid assistance they’ll get. However we’re pleased to report that the new high-performance Stelvio Quadrifoglio will also be available with petrol power, and we suspect will continue to use a V6 engine like the current, highly praised model.
Head of marketing and communication, Cristiano Fiorio, told us the brand was listening to customer demand but also added: “Personally, I do not see a Quadrifoglio EV. I see a Quadrifoglio which has the sound of a real engine.” He added: “Quadrifoglio to me, to us, should be something with a roar.”
Alfa Romeo had been planning a Stelvio Quadrifoglio EV, with up to 1,000bhp and a 0-62mph time of around two seconds, that could still be offered alongside the petrol model. While this version would deliver a huge jump in power and performance, there would be a substantial weight penalty from the battery-electric powertrain.
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