2017 New York Preview: The Alfa Romeo Stelvio lineup to debut at the NYIAS

April 7, 2017April 8, 2017 Chris Chin 2017, 2017 New York Auto Show, 2017 New York International Auto Show, 2017 NYIAS, Alfa Romeo, Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti, Auto Shows, Luxury, New York Auto Show, New York International Auto Show, NYIAS

Full details on Alfa Romeo’s bread-winning and insanely important crossover revealed ahead of its official Javits Center conference.

What’s going on?

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is showing up at the 2017 New York International Auto Show. The Stelvio crossover itself isn’t quite news, its full lineup detail is. Alfa recently spilled the beans for us to digest.

As a refresher, Alfa Romeo finally got around to relaunching its brand in the US market after numerous delays and setbacks. The company still faces issues, but Alfa happily reported a sales increase of over 1000% since the launch, meaning things are just getting started.

The Stelvio is crucial to Alfa Romeo’s reestablishment and is the key to long-term prosperity, as long as it’s a good product that sells. The plan is much the same as other automakers: make a popular crossover that people will buy. This boosts sales and profits thus, allowing Alfa Romeo to thrive. Should the Stelvio sell successfully, this would put money in the pockets of FCA, potentially opening up the doors for the company to produce more unique cars that enthusiasts want.

What different variants of Alfa Romeo will there be?

Upon launch, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio will be available in two normal forms: base Stelvio and Stelvio Ti. Both come standard with Alfa’s latest Q4 all-wheel drive system, leather, bi-xenon headlights, and a single engine option. Under the Stelvio’s hood is an all-aluminum 2.0L direct-injected and turbocharged inline-four with 280 horsepower and 306 pound-feet of torque. With a ZF eight-speed automatic as the only transmission option, Alfa claims a 0-60 time of just 5.4 seconds. Top speed maxes out at 144 miles per hour.

But wait, there is a third variant: the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. And as you guessed, like the Giulia Quadrifoglio, the Stelvio is the flagship performance model of the lineup.

The engine is the same Ferrari-engineered 2.9L all-aluminum, direct-injected twin-turbocharged and intercooled V6. With that, you’ll have 505hp, 443 lb-ft of torque, and the same Q4 all-wheel drive system, catapulting the Stelvio Quadrifoglio to 60 in just 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 177 mph. But a larger engine and more power aren’t the only additions. The Quadrifoglio also gains Alfa DNA Pro’s driver mode and program selector, adaptive and adjustable suspension, a torque vectoring differential, and more. Expect all the same rich leather and Alcantara appointments as the Giulia.

There are package trims too

With the Stelvio and Stelvio Ti, buyers can opt for either a Sport Package. For the base Stelvio, that adds 19-inch wheels while the Stelvio Ti gains 20-inch kicks. On the inside, the Sport Package also includes 12-way power leather seats, interior trimming bits like a Sport steering wheel, glass-block window trim, aluminum pedals, painted brake calipers…the list goes on.

The Stelvio Ti on the other hand also comes with one more package option and only on the Stelvio Ti. It’s called the Lusso Package and think of it as the luxury version of the Stelvio. That adds the same 12-way power leather seats, wrapped in Luxury Pieno Fiore Italian leather seats with Cannelloni inserts. And the trim forgives the metal for real wood, in choice of either dark gray oak, or a Lusso-exclusive light walnut.

How much will it all cost?

No word just yet. But given the Stelvio’s intent to compete with the BMW X3, Audi Q3, and Mercedes-Benz GLC, it’ll likely be in the price range of those crossover SUVs.

– By: Chris Chin