2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio

By Mauricio Lezcano / carsntravel.com / Photos FCA

As the second of a new generation of vehicles built on an all-new platform, the 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio epitomizes Alfa Romeo’s La meccanica delle emozioni spirit, delivering race-inspired performance, real-world driving confidence, state-of-the-art technologies, seductive Italian style and an exhilarating driving experience to the premium mid-size SUV segment.


The Stelvio Quadrifoglio showcase Alfa Romeo’s captivating mix of Italian performance, style and technology.
Crafted by Alfa Romeo artisans at the Cassino plant in Italy, the 2018 Stelvio Quadrifoglio is a testament to Alfa Romeo’s perfect balance of engineering and emotion, creating a premium mid-size SUV for driving enthusiasts that stands out in one of the largest and fastest growing segments in the U.S.

With the most powerful Alfa Romeo production engine ever, Stelvio Quadrifoglio highlights Alfa Romeo’s performance and motorsport pedigree as the halo model in the lineup. The heart and soul of this ultra-high-performance SUV is an all-aluminum, direct-injection 2.9-liter 24-valve twin-turbo intercooled V-6 engine, delivering a best-in-class 505 horsepower and 443 lb.-ft. of torque, and a standard Q4 all-wheel-drive system.

The Stelvio Quadrifoglio includes exclusive high-performance and functional exterior design elements, plus unique performance suspension, brakes and wheels. Inside, high performance leather and Alcantara front seats, featuring 12-way power and adjustable thigh support, provide the optimal control center. Additional features include a Quadrifoglio-exclusive leather-wrapped steering wheel with accent stitching and performance contours, leather-wrapped instrument panel with accent stitching and carbon fiber interior trim.

Advanced technology features unique to the Stelvio Quadrifoglio include a four-mode Alfa DNA Pro selector with Race mode, torque vectoring differential, Quadrifoglio-tuned adaptive suspension, Quadrifoglio instrument cluster with 200 miles per hour speedometer and cylinder deactivation system.


Driver-centric capability and performance
The Stelvio’s intuitive interior is fully committed to the driver’s every need, offering easy access to vital and next level technologies. A Formula One-inspired steering wheel features a thick-rim profile that transmits the chassis’ direct-steering feel and neatly groups the vehicle controls and the engine start button. Behind the steering wheel, the Stelvio features available all-aluminum column-mounted paddle shifters and a standard full-color 7-inch thin film transistor cluster display straddled by two large white-on-black face analog gauges.

Conveniently located in the center console are two simple rotary dials. The first controls Alfa’s DNA Drive Mode system with three unique driver selectable modes, which can be used to fine tune the driving experience by adjusting throttle response, boost pressure and suspension settings. Stelvio Quadrifoglio adds a fourth mode Race with its exclusive DNA Pro Drive Mode system.

The secondary rotary dial controls the high-resolution, wide-screen infotainment system with real-time vehicle performance pages and telemetry, plus 3-D graphic navigation that recognizes handwritten gestures on the top of the rotary pad, allowing the driver to easily interact with the 3-D Navigation system. With easy access to vital technologies in mind, all Stelvio models will feature Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.


Italian style, inside and out
Stelvio Quadrifoglio features unique exterior styling, 20-inch aluminum wheels with high-performance Brembo brakes, Alfa DNA Pro with Race Mode and adjustable performance suspension, torque vectoring differential, high performance leather and Alcantara seats with 14-way power front seats, including 4-way lumbar and power bolsters, Formula One-inspired steering wheel with red push-button start and steering column-mounted aluminum paddle shifters to maximize the all-new Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s driving pedigree.

For sophisticated music lovers, the refined Harman Kardon Premium Audio System is offered on the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, which delivers detail-rich audio output. The heart of the Sound Theatre system is a 900-watt 12-channel class D amplifier, which distributes clear sound through a system of 14 speakers for superior audio quality. Harman Kardon’s Logic 7 sound technology is used to secure a surround effect from different high-resolution sources and harmoniously uniform stereo playback. With this sound system, occupants can experience the premium quality for which Harman Kardon is renowned.


Summary
Since its foundation in Milan, Italy, in 1910, Alfa Romeo has designed and crafted some of the most stylish and exclusive cars in automotive history. That tradition lives on today as Alfa Romeo continues to take a unique and innovative approach to designing automobiles.

The Stelvio Quadrifoglio, the halo model of the lineup continues to highlight Alfa Romeo’s performance and motorsports expertise. The heart and soul of this ultra-high-performance SUV is an all-aluminum, direct-injection, 2.9liter, 24-valve, twin-turbocharged intercooled V-6 engine, delivering a best-in-class 505 horsepower and 443 lb.-ft. of torque paired with the standard Q4 AWD system, that powers it from 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 176 mph.

The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio starts at $79,795.00, the one I drove included the
Trofeo White Tri-Coat Exterior Paint ($2,200.00), Convenience Package ($200.00), Driver Assist Dynamic Plus-Package ($1,500.00), Apple Car-Play ($100.00), Google-Android-Auto ($100.00), Quadrifoglio Carbon Fiber Steering Wheel ($400.00), and it came in at $85,890.00 including destination charge ($1,595.00).
mlezcano@carsntravel.com

Posted in Alfa Romeo, CAR REVIEWS.

Emilio Lezcano

Journalist - Editor - Photographer
Professional Race Car Driver

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