Alfa Romeo

An unlikely wedding of segments come to life in Alfa Romeo’s new Stelvio, a Giulia sedan-based SUV coming to the world next year with either a mere 280 hp (208kW) from the 2.0-liter Ti version, or a raucous, flame-throwing 505 hp (377kW) from the Quadrifoglio top edition, shown here.

Which brings up questions. Existential questions. Comedian Stephen Wright asked years ago: “If you were in a car that could travel at the speed of light and you turned on the headlights, would they work?” Similarly, even though the world has turned to SUVs for automotive salvation, are those buyers—or even a meaningful segment of those folks—asking for thoroughbred sports car-level performance? And when is 500 hp not enough? Turns out Alfa Romeo sees a niche there and has thrown a veritable kitchen sink’s worth of go-fast at it, too.