Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo has always been associated with sports cars and luxury sedans, but that is about to change with the unveiling of the 2018 Stelvio at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show. For the first time in its manufacturing history, the brand is making a sports utility vehicle and by the looks of it, the reason is simply to keep up and make the company relevant once again.

As Digital Trends notes, it's about time for Alfa Romeo to realize it can't survive in the automotive industry by buildings sports cars and sedans alone considering that its old competitors like Bentley, Jaguar, Maserati, and even Porsche have already introduced their own SUVs and are profiting from it as of the moment.

On initial impression, Auto Express says that the Stelvio appears to have been inspired by the Giulia Quadrifoglio, thanks to the very familiar narrow headlights, gaping air intakes, and the design of the grille that looks more like a shield — something that is known to be Alfa Romeo's preferential front end trademark.

And one thing that can never be denied in the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is its tendency to look and feel like it should be in the luxury class, and the price will tell everyone that it is, although the company hasn't determined how much the SUV will cost in the United States for the moment.

Now turning to what's under the hood, the powertrain will again prove that the Stelvio borrows a lot of things from the Giulia. For instance, the most common variant will be the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine (four cylinders) that is capable of 280 horsepower. But this engine variety is the least powerful since Alfa Romeo is expected to introduce a more fancied Stelvio Quadrifoglio, which will be using a 2.9-liter turbocharged (twin) V6 engine capable of 505 horsepower.

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is expected to hit the road in 2018.