[Alfa Romeo News] Rumours of Alfa Romeo’s dalliance in the SUV market have been doing the rounds for the last couple of years, but now a prominent source within the Italian carmaker’s ranks has confirmed that such a model is on the cards.
Speaking at the recent Telegraph Festival of Motoring, Alfa Romeo UK boss Damian Dally stated that “there will certainly be an SUV in the next two or three years.” This could mean that the Italian firm could add an SUV to its model line up by the end of 2015.
Alfa parent company, Fiat, has access to plenty of technology from its other acquisition, Chrysler. This means such a venture will not prove too financially or technologically challenging for the Italian carmaker. As Dally stated, the Fiat Group’s ownership of Jeep has given Alfa Romeo access to a “whole portfolio of technologies”.
Technical details are thin on the ground, but it’s fair to assume that the controversially styled 2013 Jeep Cherokee, which shares its platform with the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, will form the foundations of the Alfa’s SUV.
We can probably expect a choice of two- and four-wheel drive versions with an engine line-up possibly mirroring that of the Jeep. Given that Alfas trade heavily of their looks and pavement presence, the Fiat group is unlikely to endow the Italian SUV with too many rock-hopping gadgets so as not to tread on the Cherokee’s toes.
