Several years ago, there were rumors that announced an interesting platform share within the FCA Group. The Giorgio platform, deployed by Alfa Romeo for its Giulia and Stelvio models, was supposed to be shared with Dodge, Jeep, and Maserati. Initially, these were just rumors, but statements made by officials partly confirmed them without providing a timeline. Now, we know why Dodge did not use the Giorgio platform for a new Challenger.
That’s right, folks; someone at Dodge confirmed that the corporation's plan with the Giorgio platform was to use it for a new Challenger. The resulting models would have been lighter, and they would have come with next-level handling when compared to the LC platform that was launched back in 2008.
The current CEO of Dodge, Tim Kuniskis, explained that the turning point for the decision was back in 2013. In case you are unaware of the timeline, the Giulia was revealed two years later, but FCA had spent billions in developing the Giorgio platform, so other brands from the group might have deployed it if the leaders of the conglomerate decided to do so.
As Kuniskis explained during the Autoline podcast and was first observed by the folks at The Drive, the issue was that opting for the Giorgio platform would have resulted in a smaller car. Moreover, if the Challenger was lighter and featured improved handling, Dodge feared that it would be placed in direct competition with the Mustang and the Camaro, which the CEO of the American brand described as being “great cars” as well as “fantastic cars” and the marque preferred to prevent a direct match with them “in their sandbox.”
Dodge's idea was to “go left when everyone is turning right” so that they have a different product, as well as “have control of that space.” In other words, Dodge's leaders observed the risk of competing in a slice of the market that was not to its advantage, and this could have led to customers straying from the brand instead of attracting new customers from other makes.
In the end, Dodge did get an Alfa Romeo platform, the one from the Tonale, which the CEO of the brand defended as being “brand engineering, instead of badge engineering.” Kuniskis explained that the Dodge Hornet is based on a car that is “really cool” and that it has received the brand DNA well, which made it fit in the space.
Interestingly, the CEO of Dodge has also admitted that their package features things that customers of compact SUVs are not looking for. Instead, most of them are doing “spreadsheet purchases,” which means selecting a vehicle on price, value, and fuel economy.
However, Tim Kuniskis believes that people are looking for a vehicle like the Hornet, and they (Dodge) are about to find out how many customers want something different.
Editor's note:
For illustration purposes, the photo gallery also shows the Dodge Hornet GT's press photos, as well as Alfa Romeo Giulia's press images.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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