The next-generation Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUV will make the switch to electric power when it arrives in 2025. It will be followed by a new Giulia saloon in 2026, and Alfa Romeo will go EV-only a year after.
The duo will be the first STLA Large-based cars to use 800V electricals, hinting that they will fully exploit the new Stellantis platform’s potential in hot Quadrifoglio guise.
The quickest STLA Large cars will crack the 0-62mph sprint in around 2.0sec – almost half the 3.8sec and 3.9sec times claimed by the current V6-engined Stelvio QV and Giulia QV.
The new Dodge Charger Daytona – the first performance car to use the platform but with 400V electricals – offers outputs of up to 670bhp and so can hit 60mph in 3.3sec.
It also packs a 93.9kWh (usable) battery pack, which delivers a range of 317 miles in the 496bhp R/T model, according to the US’s EPA test cycle (which is tougher than the WLTP regimen used in Europe).
This can be recharged at rates of up to 183kW, allowing a 20-80% refill in 27 minutes.
However, the use of 800V electricals in the Alfa duo will doubtless allow for a substantially faster charging rate. It’s possible that it will rival the recently upgraded Porsche Taycan, which can now take up to 320kW.
The higher voltage could also allow Alfa to reduce the current at which the electrical system runs, allowing for thinner wiring and thus a significant reduction to the car’s weight.
This could prove key to ensuring the new cars are to match the dynamic capabilities of their predecessors, given the 400V Charger tips the scales at a hefty 2648kg.
To that end, the Giulia and Stelvio will also be fitted with active anti-roll bars and a terrain-detection system.
The cars will also be the first to use Stellantis’s new STLA Brain computer architecture, which promises to bring a marked upgrade to the cars’ onboard technological offerings.