Alpha moves

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio is a crossover SUV primed for the track, but equally easy to handle during an everyday intra-city drive

- GAUTAM SHARMA

Think Alfa Romeo and chances are you begin to visualise a svelte coupe or roadster, or perhaps one of the many elegant saloons that the Milanese brand has served up over the past half-century. However, it’s no secret that the bulk of today’s new-vehicle sales are accounted for by SUVs.

The Alfa Romeo brains trust obviously hasn’t been oblivious to this trend, and the Stelvio – launched locally in 2018 – has been the company’s first salvo in the crossover SUV genre, with the smaller Tonale set to follow over the coming year. Evocatively named after one of the world’s greatest driving roads – Italy’s vaunted Stelvio Pass – the former has done much, along with the Giulia saloon, to restore Alfa Romeo’s image as a marque that produces cracking driver’s cars.

The subject of this feature is the range-topping Stelvio Quadrifoglio (Italian for four-leaf clover – hence the logo on the front fender), which packs a fire-breathing 2.9litre twin-turbo V6 motor that kicks out a towering 510hp and 600Nm. The sonorous Ferrari-built engine is mated to a smooth-shifting eight-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel-drive system that cleverly juggles power delivery to all four wheels for maximum traction and efficiency.

The raw numbers state the Stelvio Quadrifoglio can demolish the 0-100kph sprint in a supercar-baiting 3.8 seconds and hit 283kph flat out, yet it’s a remarkably user-friendly and docile car when you’re merely pootling along in the softest of its four driving modes. However, slot it into ‘Race’ mode and a completely different beast is unleashed.