Even The 'Normal' Alfa Romeo Stelvio Looks Hot

When launching the Stelvio, it was clear Alfa Romeo wanted to go for maximum impact. Repeating the same trick it pulled with the Giulia, the Italian manufacturer went in all guns blazing by revealing the 503bhp Quadrifoglio version before anything else.

Impressive though it is, the all-singing, all-dancing 2.9-litre V6 is a niche car - it’s not going to be the one that Alfa hopes Joe Public buys in droves. Now though, Alfa has revealed a Stelvio for normals for the first time.

It’s called the Stelvio First Edition, and even without all the fancy Quadrifoglio garb, it still looks very attractive. Then again, it’s not exactly rolling around on sofa casters: those arch-filling rims each measure at a considerable 20 inches in diameter.

As well as being almost as pretty, it’s not a million miles away in terms of performance either. The 2.0-litre petrol engine under the bonnet is good for 276bhp and 295 lb ft, getting the Stelvio from 0-62mph in just 5.7 seconds. That’s enough to give all but the fastest modern hot hatches a bit of gyp, and is a tad faster than the recently discontinued 2.7-litre Porsche Boxster. Decent for an SUV, no? At the top end meanwhile, it’s all out of ideas at 143mph.

The ‘Q4’ four-wheel drive system will certainly help the Stelvio get a clean launch to bag that impressive 0-62 time. Fed the four-banger’s thrust via an eight-speed automatic gearbox, the Q4 system operates the rear wheels only under normal conditions, putting up to 50 per cent of the power to the fronts when a loss of traction is detected.

On the inside, you get electrically adjustable leather seats as standard, along with some rather posh-looking real wood. Also on the standard-fit menu is an autonomous emergency brake, front and rear parking sensors plus a rear camera and a powered tailgate among other things.

Alfa Romeo says the car is available to order now, although weirdly hasn’t actually said how much for. Go figure…