Nadim Mehanna and his MotorShow team took the latest Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio for a comprehensive drive in Dubai. 

The award-winning model of the latest Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio has captured the hearts of the international community thanks to the brand’s trademark driving dynamics and timeless design, which make every Alfa Romeo vehicle a moving work of art. The distinct Alfa Romeo interpretation of Italian design has been made even more seductive and contemporary, with stylistic enhancements on its front that create a strong family resemblance with the Tonale.

The front of the latest Stelvio has received a fresh look. The front and lower grilles of the two main air ducts have a unique finish, reinterpreting the famous Trilobo grille in a contemporary style.

The headlights are the most significant new feature at the front. The 3+3 lights make their debut on the Stelvio with new Full-LED Adaptive Matrix headlights. This design not only enhances the strong family resemblance with the Tonale but also recalls one of the brand’s iconic features, first introduced by the legendary Alfa Romeo SZ Zagato and the Alfa Romeo Proteo concept car.

The three modules form the unique frontline of the new Stelvio, ensuring optimal lighting conditions through advanced technologies:

• Adaptive Front Lighting System: Constantly adjusts the dipped beam headlights based on speed and driving conditions.
• Glare-Free High Beam Segmented Technology: Automatically detects both directions of traffic to avoid blinding other drivers in poor lighting conditions.
• Welcome and Goodbye Device: Activates every time the driver opens or closes the car.

These innovations mean greater efficiency—both in terms of longevity and energy savings—and enhanced safety, reducing eye strain and increasing driving comfort. The redesigned rear LED tail lights also contribute to the sporty essence of the Stelvio, now featuring new clear lens tail lamps.

The latest Stelvio is equipped with cutting-edge technology to ensure a comfortable and connected driving experience while delivering the signature pleasure of driving an Alfa Romeo. The most notable update is found in the instrument panel with its historic ‘telescopic’ design, which includes a new, completely digital 12.3-inch TFT screen. This display allows access to all vehicle information and parameters related to autonomous driving technologies. The cluster can be configured into three layouts: Evolved, Relax, and Heritage:

• Evolved: Represents the future of Alfa Romeo design, utilizing the central area of the screen while retaining its two lateral quadrants.
• Relax: Focuses on comfort, omitting detailed vehicle information and the two quadrants.
• Heritage: Inspired by the brand’s iconic Sixties and Seventies models, featuring distinctive details such as inverted numbers on the speedometer.

The latest Stelvio boasts a fluid and intuitive Human Machine Interface (HMI) to keep all functionalities at your fingertips. The infotainment system pairs with the optional Alfa Connect Services, offering features such as over-the-air updates and My Remote, allowing control of vehicle functions (locking/unlocking doors, flashing lights) via smartphone or smartwatch.

Non-Fungible Token (NFT) technology, a world exclusive in the automotive field that began with the Tonale, is also available across the Stelvio lineup. This technology is based on a blockchain card, an encrypted and unchangeable digital register where essential information about each vehicle is recorded. The NFT generates a certificate detailing the vehicle's life, helping ensure proper preservation and supporting its residual value. This certificate provides added credibility, benefiting owners or resellers and reassuring buyers of used vehicles.

The driving dynamics of the latest Stelvio are once again best-in-class in its segment. It offers a visceral driving experience with authentic Alfa Romeo spirit, balancing Italian design, state-of-the-art engines, perfect weight distribution, innovative technology, and an excellent power-to-weight ratio. This formula, which embodies the essence of current and past Alfa Romeo models, has been evolving since the Tonale to achieve a new level of efficiency and high-performance sportiness.

The sporty dynamic behavior of the Stelvio is supported by the extensive use of ultra-light materials like aluminum, used in the engine base, and carbon, used for the driveshaft, taken directly from the racing world.

The Stelvio's Q4 technology is designed to manage traction reactively and predictively, ensuring the highest performance levels, efficiency, and safety. This system combines the benefits of all-wheel drive with reduced fuel consumption and the driving pleasure associated with rear-wheel drive vehicles. The Active Transfer Case (ATC) at the heart of the Q4 system monitors grip conditions and driver inputs in real time to ensure optimal performance.

The Q4 system allows the Stelvio to direct all power to the rear wheels. If tire grip approaches its limit or if requested by the driver, it can instantly allocate up to 50% of engine torque to the front wheels in less than 150 ms, preventing wheel slip and maximizing vehicle performance.

It comes equipped with a 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine, which produces 505 hp and 600 Nm of torque. This engine is derived from Ferrari technology, giving the Stelvio remarkable performance. The SUV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in approximately 3.6 seconds, and it has a top speed of 283 km/h. It's paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission and features all-wheel drive (AWD), ensuring both agility and control.

On the Stelvio Veloce, the Q4 all-wheel drive can be integrated with the Q2 mechanical self-locking differential, also available on the rear-wheel drive Giulia. This limited-slip differential enhances agility and sportiness, ensuring perfect traction for improved vehicle stability in high-speed corners, during rapid acceleration, and in wet or slippery conditions.

The Stelvio features a front double wishbone with a semi-virtual steering axis—an Alfa Romeo exclusive—that optimizes filtering and enables quick, precise steering for uncompromised handling. The rear employs a multilink solution with four and a half arms, patented by Alfa Romeo, providing enhanced handling alongside excellent comfort. The Alfa™ Active Suspension, with its electronically controlled damping system, adapts to driving conditions in real-time, allowing drivers to choose between performance-focused or comfort-oriented handling.

The electromechanical Integrated Braking System (IBS) combines stability control with the braking system, guaranteeing an instantaneous response, limiting stopping distances, and allowing for significant weight optimization.

Contributing to the stellar driving dynamics of the Stelvio is the extremely direct steering, paired with an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission featuring aluminum shift paddles, ensuring unparalleled handling in curves.

The latest Stelvio follows the strategy introduced with the Tonale, aiming to simplify the customer configuration process. Two trim levels are available—Sprint and Veloce—each with distinctive features to satisfy the most discerning customers. The Sprint trim serves as the entry model for a unique Alfa Romeo experience, while the Veloce enhances performance and sportiness.