The all-new Alfa Romeo Stelvio has been revealed at the LA Motor Show today, it’s the first SUV the Italian car maker has ever produced.

LATE ON THE SUV band wagon, Alfa Romeo has finally revealed its hot-shoe Stelvio SUV at the LA Motor Show. It will arrive in Australia in 2018.

Named for the Stelvio Pass in the Italian Alps, the Stelvio will be built in Italy alongside the Giulia which arrives in Australia shortly.

Unveiled in the US as the Quadrifoglio variant, it runs a Ferrari-derived 2.9-litre bi-turbo V6 making 375kW of power which is run through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Stelvio will also be offered with a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder making 206kW at 5250rpm and 400Nm of torque at 2250rpm. This will also run through an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The top-spec Stelvio QV will be the only one offered with Alfa’s Q4 all-wheel drive system which behaves as a rear-drive car until slip is detected and then can shuffle up to 60% of torque to the front or back. This system, for the first time on an Alfa, will also be offered with torque vectoring allowing controlled torque delivery to each wheel. This then suggests the lower-powered car will be rear-drive only, but this is still to be confirmed by FCA Australia.

The Stelvio gets Alfa’s DNA Pro drive select system which offers four driving modes: Dynamic; Natural; Advanced Efficiency; and Race. There’s a bespoke suspension system with electronically controlled dampers which link into the drive modes to tailor the ride and handling characteristics. The Stelvio will run the same braking system as the Giulia, including carbon-ceramic discs. Alfa claims, “This innovative electromechanical system combines stability control with a traditional servo brake to deliver instantaneous brake response and hence record-breaking stopping distances”. It hasn’t announced what that record-breaking stopping distance is yet…

Going up against the likes of the Porsche Macan, the Stelvio measures 4680mm long, 1650mm tall and 2160mm wide (including mirrors). The Alfa is slightly shorter, narrower and taller than the Macan. While Alfa claims it has a near perfect weight distribution it hasn’t revealed just how fast the car is or how heavy.

There’s no word on pricing or line-up for Australia, or whether a manual transmission will be offered. Stay tuned.