Standard 510 hp but this one has been tuned
The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio has a three-liter V6 with twin turbo and 510 hp. And then the block is also tickled a bit for some extra horsepower. Where is that going? It already runs 280 kilometers per hour at top speed. We watch and listen together with owner Leon Verhees.
Leon Verhees is an entrepreneur, comes from Deurne and until recently drove a neat two-liter Alfa Romeo Stelvio. To full satisfaction. But at some point he arrives at Alfa dealer Driessen in Eindhoven with his good business SUV and sees a snow-white Quadrifoglio there. “That car spontaneously started laughing at me,” he says with a broad grin. Leon is tempted to a test drive and not much later the Alfa with just 60,000 km of experience is his. The good two-liter Stelvio stays behind at Driessen and the great enjoyment can begin. “Well, of course it could all be a bit less, but I am a fan. Actually, I had set my sights on a Giulia with this powertrain. But if only the rear wheels have to process that 500 hp, then very special things will happen”, Leon knows from experience. A test drive with such a potent Giulia changes his mind. “That car always and forever went crazy. No matter how fast you drove, he kept going.” The Stelvio with standard four-wheel drive can lose its power better.
Alfa is all about lines, powertrain and handling
“An Alfa Romeo is always a special case,” says Leon. “Italians find powertrain, handling and lines important. The rest doesn’t matter. You notice that, because in a car of this caliber you miss a fast multimedia system or accurate navigation. Incomprehensible, while new this is a one and a half ton car.”
Lots of experience
It should hardly spoil the fun. In fact, Leon is very proud of his Stelvio Q. “That carbon in the chassis, that Ferrari engine, that exhilarating character. It’s a lot of experience and that’s cool if you’re on the road a lot as a car enthusiast.” Because yes, the Brabander covers all his business kilometers by Stelvio Q. That makes him a huge lucky bastard. Yet it still tickles Leon. “I wanted to get the most out of this Stelvio, just because I can. You can do a lot with the engine management. You can set it so that you can even choose extra power per gear.” Leon is getting more and more enthusiastic about his own Stelvio. But in the meantime, dynamometer chief Ghisbert van Ginhoven is busy measuring the output of the Alfa Romeo. “The engine management offers numerous possibilities, so it sometimes takes a bit of puzzling to achieve the maximum,” says Ghisbert. That succeeds and with pleasantly brutal force the Q is ramming on the roller bench in The Hague. With a nice score as a result. Leon has done well.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl