Alfa Romeo Stelvio: 2023 facelift spotted with Tonale-inspried styling

A facelifted version of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio midsize SUV has been spotted in the wild wearing similar styling to its smaller Tonale SUV sibling.

The image shared to Reddit shows an updated Stelvio prototype wearing a more aggressive headlight design that trades the circular LED lights for a trio of square-shaped globes.

The remainder of the lower bumper is similar in appearance, though it remains to be seen if the grey colouring around the grille, headlights and lower section carry over to the production model ahead of an expected 2023 Australian release date.

A sharp new ‘phone dial’ style alloy-wheel design appears to present on the prototype, evoking one of Alfa’s longest-running styling cues, but few other visual changes are evident on these early photographs.

It comes after a close-up image of the Stelvio’s updated, Tonale-inspired headlight design was shared on Instagram suggesting the changes will make it to the production stage.

With prototypes already on the road, it’s likely the changes will be officially announced towards the end of 2022 and could make it to Australia by early 2023.

With the Tonale’s more aggressive headlight design appearing on the Stelvio, it’s likely that a following facelifted for the Giulia sedan will take place within the same period.

Stelvio hybrid firming for future release

The Stelvio facelift is likely to be more than just skin deep with a hybrid engine set to join the current line-up of four-cylinder and V6 engines.

At the recent reveal of the 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale, Alfa Romeo product manager Daniel Tiago Guzzafame told Chasing Cars that a hybrid powertrain was under consideration for a future update to the Stelvio midsize and Giulia sedan, both of which run on Stellantis’ RWD Giorgio platform.

Alfa Romeo currently offers the Stelvio with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine making either 147kW/330Nm or 206kW/400Nm, depending on the state of tune, or  375kW/600Nm from the 2.9-litre twin-turbo-petrol V6 found in the high-performance Quadrifoglio grade.

The Stelvio is currently priced from $64,950 to $147,950 before on-road costs, with a slight price increase expected across the range.

Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2021: pricing in Australia

Prices listed are before on-road costs and options.

• Stelvio – $64,950
• Stelvio Sport – $69,950 
• Stelvio Veloce – $79,950 
• Stelvio Quadrifoglio – $147,950