Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio make a comeback with orders to reopen in weeks
Orders are to reopen for the hottest versions of Alfa Romeo Giulia saloon and Stelvio SUV as successor models are delayed
Alfa Romeo has announced that the Quadrifoglio versions of the Giulia and Stelvio models will be making a comeback this spring.
Along with the Quadrifoglio range-toppers, Alfa’s compact executive saloon and mid-size SUV had begun a gradual phasing out process ahead of their replacements arriving but the new cars have both been pushed back until at least 2027. This prompted Alfa to give the existing models a stay of execution and sales of the current Giulia and Stelvio are now rescheduled to end with the new models’ next year arrival. The second-generation Stelvio was originally due to launch in 2025.
The standard Giulia and Stelvio will retain their 278bhp petrol engine in Sprint or Veloce trims, and these versions will be offered alongside the Intensa Special Series. Above this, there's a return of the hot 513bhp Quadrifoglio variants, providing competition to the likes of the BMW M3, Audi RS 5 and performance SUVs like the Mercedes-AMG GLC 53.
Santo Ficili, who took over from Jean-Philippe Imparato as CEO of Alfa Romeo in 2024, said: "we're reopening orders for the Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio, to keep to a promise made to customers of ours who pay the most attention to the extreme performance and pure emotions inherent in Alfa Romeo's DNA.”
New Quadrifoglios on the way
Alfa Romeo has previously stated performance-focused Quadrifoglio versions will continue beyond the current generation and Ficili backed this up by saying, “Quadrifoglio is the most authentic expression of Alfa Romeo sportiness and of our cars, designed for real fans of driving, with the focus always on the driver. We're sure it will continue to inspire our future.”
Alfa had sought to maximise revenues from both decade-old models recently, a strategy epitomised by the Giulia Luna Rossa limited edition. Restricted to just 10 units, the collaboration with the high-performance sailing team received a carbon-fibre bodykit, a revamped interior and a six-figure asking price.
Problems for the new Giulia and Stelvio
The decision to back up the Giulia and Stelvio with their Quadrifoglio variants comes as Alfa Romeo’s turnaround bid struggles for take-off, with holes blown in its new model rollout plans due to regulatory and commercial pressures. The next-generation Stelvio and the successor to the Giulia saloon are the biggest casualties with Alfa Romeo forced to re-engineer them completely.
“We are changing our path because we were imagining Alfa Romeo’s future was electric-only, to respect the rules coming from Brussels,” Santo Ficili, the brand’s CEO, told Auto Express during an exclusive conversation in Belgium earlier this year. But with consumers not flocking to EVs in the numbers predicted, the US withdrawing electric car incentives and the EU diluting demands for the new car market to be totally electric by 2035, Alfa Romeo has been forced to rip up its plans.
“We need to change everything,” explained Ficili. “We need to go from only-BEV to all the other powertrains. You can imagine what it means we need to change: to reinvent platforms, electronic architectures, connectivity of the car, not only for Alfa Romeo but all the [Stellantis group] brands.”
Ficili confirmed that this revamp included the STLA Large platform, the executive car-sized chassis bound for forthcoming big Alfas. It already underpins the electric Jeep Wagoneer S and the latest Dodge Charger muscle car, powered in the US by either twin electric motors for a maximum 661bhp or an inline six-cylinder with up to 542bhp. Could Alfa Romeo use this ‘Hurricane’ petrol engine?
“Let’s see,” said the boss. “We need to wait for the Capital Markets day, when our new [group] CEO, Antonio Filosa, will present the plan and not only for Alfa Romeo. Hold [your] breath!”
But it’s almost certain that a twin-turbocharged straight-six with 414bhp minimum would be too much of a risk to Alfa’s compliance with European emission targets, despite its swing towards compact, electrified SUVs to lower the fleet’s CO2 average.
On this continent, expect big Alfas to embrace plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrains alongside electric power, although potential economies of scale have receded with Jeep and Chrysler dropping American PHEVs in favour of range-extender (REx) hybrids. A REx’s electric-biased driving experience doesn’t feel appropriate for a sports brand such as Alfa – again causing a headache as the Italian minnow struggles to build out its portfolio.
Cash from the flagships is critical when the heart of Alfa’s European range are the cheaper Junior and Tonale SUVs. Ficili claimed the Junior was running ahead of predictions with 60,000 orders since its launch in spring 2025. “And I’m quite satisfied [with Tonale] numbers: 100,000 units sold since [2022],” he added, with the facelifted model coming through.
“I’m super positive about the commercial result we delivered in 2025: globally we were [up] 19 per cent, with Europe [climbing] 29 per cent. [But] we are suffering a bit in North America because of tariffs,” he concluded. All told, Alfa Romeo sold about 70,000 cars in 2025 – still a drop in the ocean compared with BMW’s 2.16 million deliveries.
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