Hot on the heels of their fantastic rendition of the Giulia - I ranked it as one of the best models last year - our favorite resin brand looks to ride that success with the Giulia’s crossover counterpart.
The Italians make gorgeous cars, don’t they? Even their SUVs are, somehow, works of art. Just by looking at it, you can tell that the Stelvio just has so much more character and personality than the other cars in its class, save for, maybe, the Jaguar F-Pace. Throwing shade at the crossover segment is a favorite pastime of internet “enthusiasts”, but seeing a Stelvio in the flesh will have even the most critical non-believers flashing cheeky grins. I know I still squeal with delight every time I see an Alfa Romeo on the streets, whether it’s the sedan or SUV, base trim or hi-po Quadrifoglio. An Alfa is an Alfa, and America has been deprived of them for too long.
And that’s before you get in and drive the thing which, based on what I’ve scoured over the web, is like a dream. The Giulia received high praise for its driving dynamics - winning numerous awards in the process - and the Stelvio is essentially the same core in a body style better suited for weekend family outings. It’s a little taller and a little heavier, but the formula remains largely intact. A car that looks good on the outside and has it where it counts on the inside? Forget what people think about crossovers; the Stelvio is a winner in my book and is therefore a staple for the collection.
Released mere months apart from each other, the scale model of the Stelvio Quadrifoglio, by Ottomobile, follows in the footsteps of its 4-door brethren and is even dressed up in the same color combo. Dark metallic red on dark gunmetal wheels is an unbeatable one-two punch for these modern Alfa Romeos. Four-leaf clovers flanking the front fenders and ‘Q4’ badge on the rear liftgate tell you that this isn’t your “ordinary” Stelvio.
The two Alfa models share similar characteristics and construction but with one notable difference: the grilles. The Stelvio utilizes the typical solid grilles found on most resin pieces, while the Giulia benefitted from having the fancy mesh grilles that we all desire on our models. I’m not going to complain about cost-cutting on an already inexpensive product, but I must apprehend Otto once again for its sloppy glue work, which is seemingly getting worse by the month. Clean it up, please.
Visually, I would go as far as saying that this is the more striking of the pair. The Stelvio comes with a panoramic roof that’s darkly tinted to the point where you can’t see much through it, but it’s a nice addition nonetheless. The Otto rides on a more aggressive stance than the BBR version of the same car, which looks like an off-roader by comparison. More importantly, this four-leaf clover undercuts its BBR competitor by costing a fraction of the price while maintaining a similar level of detail. There’s no question as to which is the better value. This is what I call the alpha Alfa.