The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio has popped back into the international media spotlight to remind us what cars used to be. The British aficionados at Auto Express, specifically reviewer Jordan Katsianis, decided to take this Italian dinosaur out for another spin. They weren’t looking to test its ability to stream Netflix or change ambient lighting according to your mood, but rather to see if raw, mechanical soul still matters in an industry suffocated by digital noise.
What they rediscovered is a glorious middle finger to the modern corporate automotive playbook. While the Stelvio Quadrifoglio admittedly looks and feels a bit ancient the moment you step inside the cabin, its mechanical underpinnings remain absolute royalty. This isn’t a cynical, committee-designed product built to exploit a corporate marketing niche. It was forged by a small, dedicated team inside Alfa Romeo who actually cared about physics, resulting in a pure driver’s machine that makes modern performance SUVs look like bloated tech appliances.
The centerpiece remains the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 engine pushing out a vicious 520 HP, mated to a sharp automatic gearbox and an all-wheel-drive system that actually prefers corners over straight-line spec-sheet bragging.
The Stelvio Quadrifoglio makes its German rivals look like they’ve been indulging in an all-you-can-eat EV battery buffet. It weighs a staggering 300 kilograms (roughly 660 pounds) less than the Mercedes-AMG GLC 53, and a mind-blowing 600 kilograms (over 1,300 pounds) less than the new Porsche Macan Turbo.
Sure, the interior shows its wrinkles, and the infotainment screen might require a telescope to read. Yet, Katsianis noted that the tactile satisfaction of the physical climate knobs, the massive aluminum paddle shifters, and the vintage-style gauges provide a character that over-the-air software updates simply cannot replicate.
Stepping out of a generic modern EV and into the Stelvio feels like a time-travel experiment where the past is infinitely more exciting than the present. With a brand-new Stelvio replacement looming on the horizon for December, this final tribute proves that while digital trends fade, 520 HP and a lightweight chassis are forever.
