Alfa Romeo Q EVs to pump out 1000hp

Alfa Romeo has confirmed that its high-performance Quadrifoglio sub-brand will live on in the electric age, offering EV powertrains producing up to 746kW (1000bhp) and featuring higher-tech batteries.

Working towards becoming a pure-electric car-maker from 2025, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato has now confirmed that most EV model lines will get the Q treatment, featuring huge power and faster-charging batteries that can be topped up wirelessly.

When they arrive, the all-electric Q versions will feature a powertrain that will produce between “900-1000bhp (671-746kW)”, said Imparato, adding that they’ll also be capable of being charged far faster than today via wireless charging tech.

He also revealed that the advanced next-gen batteries would be lighter with “less kilowatts [kWh]” but their drop-off in energy density compared to the core model would be offset by their “high power efficiency”.

In other words, they will be faster to charge and more capable of delivering the high current needed for maximum power.

Alfa’s flagship Q EVs will also remain at the cutting edge of new battery tech going forward, with Imparato promising that “every three years on the market we will evolve [them] in terms of tech”.

Instead of focusing on 0-100km/h times, or record-breaking Nurburgring laps, Imparato said that the best way to market the next-gen Q models would be to put potential buyers behind the wheel to experience them.

He said the company is exploring new ways of communicating the level of performance its flagship models will offer.

Imparato also emphasised that the Q models must have the “right level of infotainment connectivity” – but that doesn’t mean he wants Alfa Romeo to ape Mercedes-Benz and more recent Chinese car-makers by introducing enormous hyperscreens.

“I care that rivals have these screens, but when you are driving and you have a screen here and a screen there it’s not easy spending your time looking at the screen,” he said.

Instead, Alfa Romeo will offer screens that are “beyond 13 inches and will offer special features” but won’t match the full-width displays of its rivals.

Making up the deficit, Alfa will be the first car brand to introduce the ‘Stellantis Brain’ electronic architecture in 2025, which should bring far greater processing power and boost the capability of the car-maker’s driver assist tech and chassis control systems.

For everything you auto know about EVs, listen to carsales' Watts Under the Bonnet: the electric car podcast

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au