2021 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport Awd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Italian team hitting the track in an electric Alfa Romeo Giulia touring car

Alfa Romeo isn't scheduled to introduce its first electric model until the early 2020s, but the Giulia is giving up gasoline a little bit sooner to participate in the burgeoning ETCR racing series. Italian tuner and race car builder Romeo Ferraris — which isn't officially associated with Alfa Romeo or Ferrari — published renderings of the track-only sedan it plans to start racing in the coming months. Low, wide and winged, the Giulia ETCR looks ready to line up on the starting grid. And, as is often the case with racing cars, it shares little more than a silhouette with the street-legal sports sedan it's based on. The lights on both ends look nearly stock, but almost everything was developed from scratch by Romeo Ferraris and partner Hexathron Racing System. The 54-year old company pointed out the Giulia is its first electric car, and it stressed it developed the model without Alfa Romeo's support. Its 350-horsepower Giulietta TCR was an in-house project as well. While Romeo Ferraris hasn't published technical specifications, the ETCR regulations give us a good idea of what's under the body. Every car will be powered by the same motors, single-speed gearbox, inverter, and 65-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. Series overseer WSC will provide the battery, while the other components will come from Williams Advanced Engineering. The powertrain makes 400 horsepower continuously, and it delivers a maximum output of 670 horsepower. The ETCR series will launch in 2020, though the calendar surprisingly hasn't been published yet. The battery-powered Giulia will need to fend off competition from a similarly modified Hyundai Veloster, and the e-Racer developed by Cupra, which was recently spun off from Volkswagen-owned SEAT. We expect other automakers will toss their hat in the ring in the coming months.

Alfa Romeo Stelvio goes on sale this summer for $42,990

The wait is nearly over for the most practical Alfa Romeo yet. The mainstream versions of the new Stelvio crossover SUV go on sale this summer, with pricing and availability for the 505-horsepower Quadrifoglio coming later. The entry-level Stelvio will start at $42,990, and the higher-trim Ti will go for $44,990. This pricing, which includes destination charges, is nearly identical to key competitors in the small luxury crossover segment. The Jaguar F-Pace starts at just $70 more with a base price of $43,060. The BMW X3 starts a bit lower than both at $41,045. Each of those entry-level crossovers makes less power than the Stelvio, though. The Jaguar makes 247 horsepower, and the BMW makes 240. The Stelvio's turbo four-cylinder makes 280 horsepower and 306 pound-feet of torque. And unlike the BMW, the Alfa comes with standard all-wheel drive. Along with the standard eight-speed automatic, the Stelvio is capable of getting to 60 mph in an estimated 5.4 seconds on the way to a 144 mph top speed. Aside from the potent four-cylinder, Stelvios come standard with leather seats, keyless entry and starting, rearview camera, 7-inch infotainment display, and 18-inch wheels. Spending the extra $2,000 for the Ti trim level will add 19-inch wheels, real wood trim, an 8.8-inch infotainment screen, and heated seats and steering wheel. Sport packages are available on both the base model and Ti. Each package includes sportier suspension, a different steering wheel, black window trim and roof rails, and aluminum pedals and paddle shifters. On the base Stelvio, the package only costs $1,800 and also adds 19-inch wheels. On the Ti, the package costs $2,500, but includes 20-inch wheels and 12-way power sport seats. The Ti also offers a Lusso package for $2,500 that comes with 19-inch wheels, 12-way power seats with nicer leather upholstery, a leather-wrapped dashboard, and a "luxury" steering wheel. Related Video:

Alfa Romeo shows off Giulia, new logo in latest video

Alfa Romeo made big waves when it introduced the 510-horsepower Giulia last week. While we reveled in the handsome, chiseled looks, stout powertrain, spine-tingling singing voice, and uniquely Italian character, the red four-door distracted us from the company's other big announcement – its new logo. In a video aptly titled "Alfa Romeo is back," we see the sexy supersedan spear across the landscape, taillights blazing a trail and V6 exhaust teasing our ears. Before long, the car disappears, and we get a detailed look at Alfa's new, more modern logo. It's short and sweet, but is also a nice follow up to last week's debut video. For those who need a refresher on the Giulia itself, the top-of-the-line Quadrifoglio Verde model is powered by a twin-turbocharged V6 that's been built with help from the engine team at Ferrari. On top of that, there's an active front splitter, a perfect 50-50 weight distribution, and a torque-vectoring rear differential. So yes, Alfa's newest sedan sounds like an extremely tidy package. You can read up on everything we learned during the Giulia's debut in our complete coverage from last week. We've got the initial story on the car, dedicated notes from the reveal, and a few bits and bobs from the Alfa Romeo museum. Check out the video up top, and then click over and check out our other Alfa coverage. Related Video: