Alfa Romeo Is Throwing Out The Whole Next-Gen Stelvio And Starting Over

Alfa Romeo is in a bit of a pickle right now. The company’s two most important models, the Giulia sedan and the Stelvio SUV, are now both 10 years old. They were supposed to go out of production last year to make room for an all-electric crossover replacement.

Obviously, that didn’t happen. Back in October, a representative for the brand confirmed that both of the current cars would have their production extended into 2027. Alfa even went through the trouble of reviving the high-performance Quadrifoglio models for Europe.

The reason for that extension? Well, according to CEO Santo Ficili, Afla Romeo has essentially had to reengineer the new EV from scratch to accept gas powertrains following the EU’s decision to roll back its 2035 emissions rules. And that takes time.

It’s Basically A New Car

Ficili spilled the beans to U.K. publication Auto Express in an interview, revealing just how much work goes into converting a car that was previously supposed to be an EV to one that will accept a gas engine.

“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. 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.”

It’s hard to overstate how much of an undertaking this will be for Alfa. It’s not like they can move some stuff out of the area underneath the hood, plop in an engine, and call it a day. Because the current car is an EV and likely has a flat floor, there’s no central tunnel for the all-wheel drive powertrain or exhaust to go. There’s also no place for a fuel tank or fuel lines. A lot of the fundamental structure of the car has to be reconsidered, which is probably why Alfa is extending the current models until 2027.

This is, by my count, the third instance I’ve heard of a European automaker reengineering a fully electric vehicle to accept a gas engine after the fact. The first was the Fiat 500, which got a hybridized three-cylinder and a real, actual manual transmission. It’s not terribly quick, accelerating from 0-60 in 16 seconds, but according to my colleague Jason, that’s just fine.

The other car is Porsche’s successor to the mid-engine 718. For years, Porsche planned for this car to be an EV, with development of test mules running all the way back to 2019. But according to a report from December, the company is now re-engineering the car to accept a gas engine, necessitating a redesign of the rear half of the car.

The Changes Could Mean Hurricane-Powered Alfas

Ficili went on to confirm to Auto Express that the new, redesigned crossover will use Stellantis’s STLA Large platform, an architecture that can accept EV powertrains as well as longitudinally or transversely mounted gas engines. It underpins cars like the Dodge Charger, the Jeep Wagoneer S, and the new Jeep Cherokee. Seeing as how the new Charger uses the company’s Hurricane straight-six, Auto Express rightly inquired about whether it would also appear on the new Alfa. Here’s what Ficili had to say:

“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!”

Stellantis has yet to announce a date for its Capital Markets day, though it’s worth noting it held its last investor day back in June 2024. Auto Express doesn’t expect the Hurricane to come to Europe due to emissions limitations, but Ficili’s comments leave the door open for a straight-six-powered Alfa to come to other markets (including ours). Other drivetrains will likely include hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and/or range-extended EVs.

Until then? Alfa will keep selling the current Stelvio and Giulia. While sales fell 36% last year in America, they were up by 19 percent globally, and a healthy 29 percent in Europe, thanks to smaller offerings like the Tonale and Junior. Whether those models can keep the brand afloat while engineers redesign the new car, well, the world will have to see.

Top image: Alfa Romeo