Alfa Romeo is one of the brands in the automotive industry that isn’t rushing with the adoption of electric vehicles. The Italians will actually skip the PHEV phase for its two core models – the Giulia and Stelvio – because their platforms weren’t designed to support plug-in technologies. As such, their range-topping variants are still powered by combustion engines with no electric support.
For some, the 2.9-liter V6 twin-turbo engine under the hood of the Stelvio Quadrifoglio might be a little too old-school considering the current trends in the performance segment. However, we will surely miss the good old six-cylinder mill when it gets discontinued and replaced by a powertrain consisting of an electric motor, possibly with the next-generation Stelvio.
What you see in the video at the top of this page isn’t exactly a stock example, though. We don’t know all the details but it seems that the owner of this Stelvio QV has given it some little software tweaks, making the 2.9 V6 slightly more powerful than in stock form. According to the available information, the output now stands at 560 horsepower (417 kilowatts) and 565 pound-feet (766 Newton-meters) of torque. As a reminder, the stock unit is rated at 505 hp and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque for the North American market after a recent update.
On paper, the AWD performance SUV in US specification is capable of reaching 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) from a standstill in just 3.6 seconds. However, this particular car is slightly more powerful, which means the acceleration should take around 3.4 – 3.5 seconds. The top speed should be 177 mph (285 kph).
In this video shot at an unrestricted section of the Autobahn, the Stelvio QV hits a top speed of around 170 mph (273 kph). While that’s a little short of the factory numbers, it’s worth mentioning that the conditions aren’t ideal – the road is wet and there’s a decent amount of traffic.
