Alfa Romeo Decides To Put Its Coolest Cars Back Into Production Just One Month After Taking Them Out Of Production

The Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan and Stelvio crossover are as old as my career in automotive journalism. I was just getting into the game when these cars hit the streets, so I have some very distinct memories of writing about them and driving them.

It’s hard to believe the Alfa duo is now 10 years old. They both still look pretty modern, thanks in part to facelifts that happened in 2022 (for the Giulia) and 2023 (for the Stelvio). The cars were reportedly destined to exit production in March of 2026, according to a memo released to Italian dealers earlier this year. But that’s definitely not happening, according to a company exec.

Jules Tilstone, the guy who’s been in charge of the Alfa Romeo and DS brands in the United Kingdom for the past two years, told Autocar that production of the Giulia and Stelvio will now extend into 2027. He also dropped a juicy tidbit of info on the high-performance, well-loved Quadrifoglio models:

Tilstone confirmed that the pair will continue to be offered with a 270bhp four-cylinder petrol engine as standard and added: “We’re also bringing back the Quadrifoglio versions of both the Giulia and Stelvio.”

The V6 performance versions were taken out of production in September but will start running down the line again at Alfa’s factory in Cassino, Italy, from April 2026.

It is unconfirmed whether either engine needed extensive modifications to comply with incoming Euro 7 emissions rules, but Tilstone said “the powertrains will be effectively the same”.

That means that just one month after Alfa decided to take the Quadrifoglio models out of production, it decided to put them back into production (but not for another six months). Why the turnaround?

As Autocar points out, the next-gen Stelvio was originally supposed to debut next year as a pure EV, riding on Stellantis’s STLA Large platform. But falling demand for electric cars—especially in the US, where weakening emissions laws and the loss of the federal EV tax credit are expected to cause a depression in EV sales—has forced Alfa to reconsider its approach.

The latest rumors now say the next-gen Stelvio and Giulia will be offered with a range of powertrains, including hybridized and electric variants. And as Car and Driver says, the current models getting a stay of execution is simply a stopgap until those cars are ready. As for why the Quadrifoglio models, specifically, are returning, Tilstone simply points to customer demand:

“Eighty per cent of the [UK] market is still ICE,” he said. “People are looking for fun-to-drive performance ICE cars, and the Giulia and Stelvio offer that in spades.”

While I’m happy to see these cars stick around for another year, I’m far more interested in where the Quadrifoglio models will be sold. These twin-turbo V-6-powered trims left U.S. showrooms after the 2024 model year, but were still offered overseas up until last month. With production now restarting, I don’t see a reason why Alfa can’t just start shipping the cars over here again. The company did not immediately respond to my inquiries about this when reached by email.

Whether the Quads come back will likely depend on demand. Neither car is especially competitive anymore, having been launched nearly a decade ago. But they’re still pretty interesting cars that provide lots of smiles. With Alfa Romeo now a tiny percentage of sales for Stellantis in North America, it might not be worth the effort. Still, it’s nice to have fast Alfas available as an option to compare against all the typical German stuff. C’mon Alfa. Please?

Top graphic: Stellantis