Get ready for the artisanal SUV. At least that’s what FCA calls its new Alfa Romeo Stelvio, named after the Stelvio Pass, a legendary stretch of driving road through northern Italy.
Alfa rolled out the Stelvio to a standing-room crowd Wednesday at the Los Angeles Auto Show, fire marshals turning dozens away from the large tent where the unveiling was held.
The 2018 Stelvio helps fill out Alfa’s sparse North American model lineup, which up to now has consisted of the 4C sports car and late-arriving Giulia sedan. More importantly, it gives Alfa an entry in the premium mid-size SUV/crossover segment, which includes the Porsche Macan, Jaguar F-Pace and Audi Q5.
"I think Alfa moving into the SUV segment, it’s really a response to almost 60 per cent of the U.S. market is SUVs and pickup trucks,” Reid Bigland, head of Alfa Romeo and Maserati, as well as U.S. sales for FCA, told reporters. “You have to be there or you’re really out.”
Most except maybe F-Pace lack styling flair. Alfa thinks it can remedy that, styling being in Italian DNA. The mid-size Stelvio isn’t just assembled at its Cassino, Italy, plant; FCA says it’s “crafted by Alfa Romeo artisans” to provide “the perfect mix of high performance, capability and Italian design.”
"From a chassis standpoint, we think we’re a cut above,” Bigland said. "We’re bringing some of that European and specifically some of that Italian flair into the marketplace."
While it’s hard to avoid an SUV’s two-box silhouette, the Stelvio looks low slung and muscular, not unlike the Giulia, with which it shares its platform. The belt line is SUV high but doesn’t leave an impression of bulkiness.
Standard all-wheel drive is rear-drive biased but can send up to 60 per cent of torque to the front wheels.
It has driver adjustability dubbed Alfa DNA, of which the top-line Quadrifoglio gets an upgraded version that includes race mode.
Alfa’s engineers focused on keeping curb weight down, using carbon fibre and aluminum in key components. The result, says Alfa, is a low centre of gravity for an SUV and 50/50 weight distribution.
The base Stelvio and mid-line Stelvio Ti feature an all-aluminum 2.0-litre direct-injection turbo four-cylinder with turbocharging and intercooler. It delivers 280 horsepower, which Alfa says is best in its class, and 306 lb-ft of torque starting at 2,250 rpm.
The star undoubtedly is the Quadrifoglio’s 2.9-litre bi-turbo V-6, which produces 505 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque from 2,500 to 5,500 rpm, with a claimed 0-60 mph time of 3.9 seconds and top speed of 177 mph (285 km/h).
“We need to get it out there because Alfa has been for all intents and purposes out of the U.S. market for more than 20 years,” Bigland said. “There’s a whole generation of Americans that have never heard about Alfa Romeo.”
For those who have, they’re often bittersweet memories of fun-to-drive but unreliable rides. Bigland acknowledged the new Alfa products need to be solid this time. Both Giulia and Stelvio were delayed to ensure they were fully developed.
“We’re not going to be rushing Alfa Romeos to market that are not up to a high level of standard from a quality perspective and a performance perspective,” said Bigland.
Pricing and delivery dates for next year have not been released but expect it to start north of $50,000 to compete with the Porsche Macan and Jaguar F-Pace.
Cool quotient
4 stars (out of 5)
While the Stelvio looks promising, Italian cars have a way of disappointing those who actually own them.