With automobiles as with waistlines, weight is the enemy. Reducing a vehicle’s mass almost always results in positive health effects, including improved acceleration, braking, cornering, fuel efficiency, and racetrack lap times. For Alfa Romeo, a brand focused on sportiness, making the Stelvio as light as commercially feasible was a priority.
The Stelvio’s body shell is steel and, like many cars, its transmission case and engines are aluminum. But the use of that lightweight alloy goes beyond those components to the front fenders, hood, front shock towers, front and rear subframes, brake calipers, and most of the suspension parts. Though Alfa won’t disclose how much weight every part saves, it did reveal that the Stelvio’s aluminum doors eliminate about 44 pounds and that its aluminum rear crossmember cuts about 11 more.…