Photo: Alfa Romeo
Back in June, Alfa Romeo surprised us with the bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful Giulia (Tipo 952). In QV specification, the Italian mid-sized sedan can also run rings around the German establishment. But the long-awaited rebirth of Alfa Romeo won’t stop with the Giulia. The D-SUV (Tipo 949) is the next to arrive on the market. But the Giulia-based SUV isn’t the only surprise Alfa has in store for us.
According to a source familiar with the latest development projects of Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, the Alfa Romeo D-SUV is going to be presented in production specification in the second half of 2016, with deliveries to start by year-end. This is the Italian outfit’s answer to the BMW X3, Audi Q5, and Mercedes-Benz GLC, and it should come as no surprise that it will sell like crazy.
Where does Alfa Romeo plan to go next with the Giorgio rear- and all-wheel drive modular platform? Until 2018, the Turin-based carmaker promised that it would launch 8 models. Three of those are the Giulia, D-SUV, and the facelifted Giulietta (due to bow in March at Geneva). As for the fourth, this model is internally known as the Tipo 961 and it represents a new take on the abandoned Tipo 941 project.
If it were to bear fruit, the Alfa Romeo Tipo 941 would have materialized into the real world as the successor of the 166 (Tipo 936) executive sedan. But that was then and this is now, so what’s the deal with the mysterious Alfa Romeo Tipo 961? In a nutshell, the deal with the 961 is as follows: a larger version of the Giorgio platform, four- and six-cylinder turbocharged engines borrowed from the Giulia, and sexier styling than the BMW 5 Series, Audi A6, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Next in line is the... wait for it... Alfa Romeo Tipo 962, also known as the C-SUV. Sweet mother of all things holy, you’ve heard that right! The Tipo 962 is currently in development as a rival to the BMW X1, Audi Q3, and Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class.
Information on this project is limited right now, but our gut tells us to look forward to the Italian half-brother of the 2017 Jeep C-SUV. The American compact CUV will replace both the Compass and the Patriot, and will be underpinned by the Small Wide LWB architecture, shared with the Fiat 500X and Jeep Renegade.
As for the grand finale, our source told us only the internal name of this work-in-progress act: Alfa Romeo Tipo 963 Spider and Coupe. Though we do not have any confirmation on this opinion from our FCA insider, we believe that the Tipo 963 Spider and 963 Coupe will act as replacements for the long-forgotten Alfa Romeo Brera (Tipo 939) and the Spider.
Think about the Tipo 963 as an alternative to the BMW Z4, Audi TT, and Mercedes-Benz SLK. This type of specialty vehicle will help the company with its main objective - to sell 400,000 cars in 2018 – whereas a replacement for the Alfa Romeo 8C and 8C Spider wouldn’t help with achieving this goal.
Editor’s note: Alfa Romeo is clearly targeting the Holy Trio of German manufacturers with its product offensive. We’ll keep our fingers crossed the Italians will fight over a large piece of sales pie.
Where does Alfa Romeo plan to go next with the Giorgio rear- and all-wheel drive modular platform? Until 2018, the Turin-based carmaker promised that it would launch 8 models. Three of those are the Giulia, D-SUV, and the facelifted Giulietta (due to bow in March at Geneva). As for the fourth, this model is internally known as the Tipo 961 and it represents a new take on the abandoned Tipo 941 project.
If it were to bear fruit, the Alfa Romeo Tipo 941 would have materialized into the real world as the successor of the 166 (Tipo 936) executive sedan. But that was then and this is now, so what’s the deal with the mysterious Alfa Romeo Tipo 961? In a nutshell, the deal with the 961 is as follows: a larger version of the Giorgio platform, four- and six-cylinder turbocharged engines borrowed from the Giulia, and sexier styling than the BMW 5 Series, Audi A6, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Next in line is the... wait for it... Alfa Romeo Tipo 962, also known as the C-SUV. Sweet mother of all things holy, you’ve heard that right! The Tipo 962 is currently in development as a rival to the BMW X1, Audi Q3, and Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class.
Information on this project is limited right now, but our gut tells us to look forward to the Italian half-brother of the 2017 Jeep C-SUV. The American compact CUV will replace both the Compass and the Patriot, and will be underpinned by the Small Wide LWB architecture, shared with the Fiat 500X and Jeep Renegade.
As for the grand finale, our source told us only the internal name of this work-in-progress act: Alfa Romeo Tipo 963 Spider and Coupe. Though we do not have any confirmation on this opinion from our FCA insider, we believe that the Tipo 963 Spider and 963 Coupe will act as replacements for the long-forgotten Alfa Romeo Brera (Tipo 939) and the Spider.
Think about the Tipo 963 as an alternative to the BMW Z4, Audi TT, and Mercedes-Benz SLK. This type of specialty vehicle will help the company with its main objective - to sell 400,000 cars in 2018 – whereas a replacement for the Alfa Romeo 8C and 8C Spider wouldn’t help with achieving this goal.
Editor’s note: Alfa Romeo is clearly targeting the Holy Trio of German manufacturers with its product offensive. We’ll keep our fingers crossed the Italians will fight over a large piece of sales pie.
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