Photo: cochealia on Instagram
The stage is set, and all Alfa Romeo has left to do is to take the veil off the Tonale. A compact crossover that slots under the Stelvio, it remains to be seen if the newcomer will be presented as a concept or near-production prototype.
It is believed Alfa Romeo will use a shorter Giorgio platform from the Stelvio, translating to rear- and all-wheel drive. Some people suggest the Small Wide 4x4 LWD could serve as the building block, and the vehicle architecture from the Jeep Compass makes sense from a financial standpoint.
An all-new Giulietta is in the pipeline too, and Alfa Romeo is expected to use the Giorgio for this application. Even though rear- and all-wheel drive is more expensive to engineer and produce, the Tonale would handle a lot better with these underpinnings. If there’s a case to be made for a high-performance model, we won’t keep our hopes up for the twin-turbo V6 in the Giulia Quadrifoglio and Stelvio Quadrifoglio.
If Alfa Romeo does manage to shoehorn this engine, it’s obvious something has to give. And that something is suck-squeeze-bang-blow, setting the Tonale Quadrifoglio apart from the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Similar horsepower and torque would favor the smaller sibling because less weight works wonders in high-performance vehicles.
Regardless of what Alfa Romeo has in the pipeline in terms of oily bits (hybridization is a certainty), there’s no denying Tonale comes from Passo del Tonale in northern Italy. The mountain pass towers at 1,883 meters (6,178 feet) above sea level, connecting Lombardy and Trentino across the Rhaetian Alps.
It’s believed Stabilimento Alfa Romeo di Pomigliano d'Arco will take care of production, a plant that was opened in 1972. The last time Alfa Romeo built cars there was in 2011, when the 159 compact executive sedan went out of production. For the time being, Pomigliano is where Fiat makes the Panda.
Serious investments are planned for the plant, and the Tonale is expected to enter pilot production late in 2019 with series-production bodywork. In other words, the Tonale will go on sale for the 2020 model year at the earliest.
An all-new Giulietta is in the pipeline too, and Alfa Romeo is expected to use the Giorgio for this application. Even though rear- and all-wheel drive is more expensive to engineer and produce, the Tonale would handle a lot better with these underpinnings. If there’s a case to be made for a high-performance model, we won’t keep our hopes up for the twin-turbo V6 in the Giulia Quadrifoglio and Stelvio Quadrifoglio.
If Alfa Romeo does manage to shoehorn this engine, it’s obvious something has to give. And that something is suck-squeeze-bang-blow, setting the Tonale Quadrifoglio apart from the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Similar horsepower and torque would favor the smaller sibling because less weight works wonders in high-performance vehicles.
Regardless of what Alfa Romeo has in the pipeline in terms of oily bits (hybridization is a certainty), there’s no denying Tonale comes from Passo del Tonale in northern Italy. The mountain pass towers at 1,883 meters (6,178 feet) above sea level, connecting Lombardy and Trentino across the Rhaetian Alps.
It’s believed Stabilimento Alfa Romeo di Pomigliano d'Arco will take care of production, a plant that was opened in 1972. The last time Alfa Romeo built cars there was in 2011, when the 159 compact executive sedan went out of production. For the time being, Pomigliano is where Fiat makes the Panda.
Serious investments are planned for the plant, and the Tonale is expected to enter pilot production late in 2019 with series-production bodywork. In other words, the Tonale will go on sale for the 2020 model year at the earliest.
Google News