The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio Is Even Faster Than The Fastest Giulia

While the fastest, record-breaking Stelvio uses the same twin-turbo engine as the Giulia that bears the same four-leaf clover badge, the Stelvio is actually a little faster off the line
The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio Is Even Faster Than The Fastest Giulia

After it broke the SUV record at the Nurburgring a month or so ago with a 7m51.7s lap, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s performance specs have emerged.

Unsurprisingly, the engine is a straightforward transplant from the Giulia Quadrifoglio. It’s the 2.9-litre twin-turbo with 503bhp and 443lb ft of torque. Peak power comes in at 6500rpm, but the turbocharged torque is on tap between 2500 and 5000rpm.

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio Is Even Faster Than The Fastest Giulia

That gives it plenty of pace, you’ll be pleased to hear: top speed is a distinctly un-SUV-like 176mph, while 62mph comes about in just 3.8 seconds from a standstill thanks to the obvious traction gains of four-wheel drive. That, you may have noticed, is a tenth faster than the lighter Giulia…

The eight-speed auto slushbox has a ‘special calibration’ and can swap cogs in a pretty brisk 150 milliseconds. That’s a tenth and a half of a second, but if they write it in the other format it looks faster.

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Necessary nods to Europe’s tree-huggers come with cylinder-deactivation and a ‘sailing’ function that decouples the gearbox from the engine in the same way as some twin-clutch units can.

Normally the car’s Q4 four-wheel drive system directs all of its power to the rear axle, which is to say the correct one, but to maintain stability and traction it can send up to 50 per cent to the front wheels. It’s a live, active system that switches power forward only when needed.

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio Is Even Faster Than The Fastest Giulia

This hot Stelvio gets Active Torque Vectoring as standard. Two electronically-controlled clutches in the rear differential control torque flow to each wheel, letting the car feed the outer wheel more at the limit, tightening the car’s line and ramping-up corner speed to the point where your face might actually come off.

Helping you with all that handling malarkey is ‘perfect’ weight distribution across the two axles. The engine and transmission are mounted as far back as possible, spreading the Quadrifoglio’s not inconsiderable 1830kg kerb weight evenly front to back. Alfa’s patented ‘four-and-a-half-link’ rear suspension helps keep things tidy in the twisties, too.

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio Is Even Faster Than The Fastest Giulia

Carbon ceramic brake discs will be optional, saving 17kg in unsprung mass and serving up better fade resistance, even if a Stelvio QF owner taking it to track days is about as likely as Subaru UK changing its mind about the WRX STI.

Of course, we couldn’t cover a fast Italian car without mentioning the interior. “Tailored like a bespoke suit,” Alfa says. Littered with carbonfibre, leather and Alcantara, it’s as racy and faux-purposeful as you’d expect. Luxuries include an 8.8-inch infotainment unit with 3D navigation, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The Stelvio Quadrifoglio arrives in the UK in summer 2018. The ordinary version is already in the wild. Pricing and final spec is under review now, so expect that within the next few months.

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Comments

Mclaren P1

36 sec ago!

11/02/2017 - 10:02 |
14 | 0

You nippy little blighter, you.

11/02/2017 - 10:05 |
20 | 0

Lol, 36 minutes ago.

11/02/2017 - 10:36 |
0 | 0
BenPaye(JDMSquad)(MX5Squad)(LFAsquad)(Subie Squad) (Rotary F

Looks really good

11/02/2017 - 10:08 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Aye, but can it do this? :-P

11/02/2017 - 10:11 |
108 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

with a winch-yes

11/02/2017 - 11:23 |
26 | 0
Olivier (CT's grammar commie)

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Only if you have a scared Hammond at the wheel.

11/02/2017 - 13:00 |
30 | 0
MrLeo

Basically, a heavy, uglier, four-wheel drive giulia QF

11/02/2017 - 10:25 |
10 | 6
TheRealBouss

Well, that’s a bit embarrassing, isn’t it?

11/02/2017 - 10:35 |
10 | 0
Anonymous

AWD > RWD off the line every time. What did you expect?

11/02/2017 - 10:37 |
24 | 2
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Yea but awd tends to have alot of oversteer issues (even seen in the r35 gtr). For instance, an audi tt quattro might be faster off the line compared to a 350z however the z might beat the audi on an actual circuit

11/02/2017 - 17:21 |
8 | 12
Jonathon North

That is all well and good, but it is an Alfa, what will that cost to fix when it inevitably breaks?

11/02/2017 - 12:28 |
2 | 12
TheBigLoser

Not as quick as a Jeep Trackhawk though…

11/02/2017 - 16:37 |
4 | 0
Joel Brennan

In the real world this isn’t any faster than the sedan variant. One tenth of a second? Trivial.

11/02/2017 - 17:08 |
0 | 0

In the real world, it’s actually not any faster than my Subaru in traffic hahaha

11/02/2017 - 18:09 |
0 | 0

I’m just curious, but would you be saying the same thing if another sedan of some kind were only a one-tenth of a second faster than the Giulia too?

11/04/2017 - 04:10 |
0 | 0
Soni Redx (MD Squad Leader) (Subie Squad Leader)

Ehh wait whaa how huh wha? Physics.. the hell are you..

11/02/2017 - 20:25 |
4 | 0