- This is the next-generation Alfa Romeo Stelvio testing under camouflage in Sweden.
- It doesn't appear to have exhaust pipes, and its grille is fully closed off, so it's likely a full EV.
- Alfa Romeo is abandoning the $2 billion Giorgio platform and using STLA Large for the Stelvio and Giulia.
As the electric vehicle market takes off globally in an uneven way, many car companies are trying a new strategy with their next-generation car lineups: you can go hybrid or fully electric, whichever suits your needs best. It looks like Italy's Alfa Romeo will be taking a similar tack with its new SUV and sedan.
Alfa Romeo is phasing out the Giulia and Stelvio, two models that were precisely what fans wanted from the brand. Both will be replaced by all-new models built around parent company Stellantis’ STLA Large platform and offer both combustion and pure electric power.
We had no official confirmation of the EV option previously, but Alfa Romeo seems to have confirmed it in its teaser photos for the next-generation Stelvio.
Several photos showing a camouflaged Stelvio prototype testing in the snow were released, and we’re pretty sure the vehicle is fully electric. The big giveaways are the lack of any visible tailpipes in the back and the orange high-voltage sticker in the upper corner of its windshield. The wheels also appear to have an aerodynamic design, but it’s slightly obscured by camouflage and the rotation of the wheels.
The front of the prototype is also almost completely closed off with only a small opening in the lower part of the bumper letting air through. The door handles also appear to be of the flush kind, showing that Alfa Romeo is paying great care to aerodynamics for this model. This doesn’t necessarily help confirm the prototype is electric, but there definitely seems to be an aero theme with this particular vehicle.
Looking at its front fascia, it unfortunately appears to have a split headlight design, with LED daytime running lights above the actual headlights, which are small and placed lower down. This is one design trend that seems to be sweeping the industry nowadays, but it’s resulted in more controversial designs rather than ones that are unanimously liked.
If there’s one automaker that can pull this off, it’s Alfa Romeo, and hopefully, the Stelvio will look better than the Junior, which gives us some hints as to what the larger SUV will look like. Alfa Romeo gives us a good look at the side profile of the vehicle, which appears bigger than before, but it still has the same almost fastback-like roofline that falls toward the back, similar to the current Stelvio.
In two of the teaser shots, Alfa Romeo shows the prototype going sideways, hinting that it will retain the current model’s rear-wheel-drive nature for the next generation. The last shot in the gallery really shows how sideways it can get, which it needs to be in a world of Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ns and the inevitable quad-motor M-badged BMW X3-equivalent electric SUV.
Riding on the STLA Large platform means the new Stelvio (and Giulia) will be related to the Jeep Wagoneer S and the Dodge Charger Daytona EV. The latter isn’t a car that has been very warmly received; a muscle car that can't do burnouts is kind of a head-scratcher.
But the platform can be tuned and tailored to feel very different from Alfa Romeo models, and it allows for both 400- and 800-volt architectures. Stellantis also says it can take a battery pack up to 118 kilowatt-hours and accelerate from naught to 62 mph (100 kph) in “the 2-second range,” and it supports all types of powertrains, including plug-in hybrids.
Since Alfa Romeo has already started teasing the Stelvio, its full unveiling is not too far in the future. It’s set to be unveiled sometime this year before it goes on sale in 2026, along with the Giulia, which apparently won’t be a traditional sedan but something taller like a larger Italian Polestar 2.
