ALFA ROMEO used the event of the launch of its Tonale to reiterate earlier remarks that the upcoming Quadrifoglio efficiency model of its small SUV will most likely be a battery-electric automobile (BEV).
Though the Milanese marque has not been one of many early adopters of electrification, Alfa Romeo is about to supply electric-only automobiles from 2027 (its first BEV is slated for supply in 2024) and has recommended that the flagship efficiency model of its latest mannequin can be a becoming introduction to its all-electric line-up.
Alfa Romeo’s international product supervisor Daniel Tiago Guzzafame advised journalists that the model’s electrical future was a superb indication that the Tonale Quadrifoglio would certainly be battery operated.
“In future, as we’ve stated earlier than, Alfa Romeo shall be electrical. That’s a part of the reply,” Mr Guzzafame stated.
“The aptitude, the technical functionality, to have a full electrical automobile is there – the Tonale’s platform is able to that. We are going to see the place within the C-segment SUV market, at a world stage, the demand shall be for this class of auto and, if the demand is there, we’ll introduce it for certain,” he added.
The remarks intently echo these made by Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato in November 2021. On the time, Mr Impoarato advised Autocar journal that an electrical Quadrifoglio model can be launched provided that the accessible know-how may reside as much as the repute of Alfa’s four-leaf-clover branded vehicles.
“For all our fashions launched, I’ll at all times research the potential of making a efficiency model of the automobile that shall be totally per the product portfolio message we ship,” Mr Imparato stated beforehand.
“If I take into account that I’m not capable of provide the best stage of efficiency steps of Quadrifoglio, I can’t do a Quadrifoglio model,” he insisted.
From launch, the Tonale shall be supplied in hybrid and plug-in hybrid guise with a 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine offering many of the automobile’s propulsion.
The entry-grade petrol-electric 48-volt mild-hybrid produces 130hp (97kW) and drives the Tonale’s entrance wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Mid-tier variants function an similar setup however with a 160hp (120kW) output, whereas the present range-topper combines the petrol engine with a plug-in hybrid system and six-speed torque converter transmission for a mixed energy output of 275hp (205kW).
All-wheel drive (PHEV) variants rely solely on electrical energy to drive the rear wheels, which means that an all-electric efficiency variant could certainly provide dual-motor efficiency and four-wheel traction.
“(Whether or not the Tonale Quadrifoglio is) throughout the technique that Alfa Romeo has already introduced – that we are going to launch our first BEV by 2024 – or that will probably be a distinct automobile, which we’ll announce later, stays to be seen, however it’ll positively be one of many all-electric fashions we launch by 2027,” Mr Guzzafame clarified.
“Globally, we shall be promoting electric-only automobiles from that point on, so the transition is beginning with one thing that we wish to be related for our clients throughout the globe.
“Oblique electrification (hybrid and plug-in hybrid) is a pure step … we wish to use the know-how we’ve got to enhance our efficiency and to make it (the automobile) related for our clients. That is the technique dictated by the model and, after all, it’s the course wherein the model is heading,” he reiterated.
Intriguingly, Mr Guzzafame didn’t utterly rule out the potential of a petrol-powered Tonale Quadrifoglio. He stated the model already had a petrol-only variant in growth for chosen LHD markets.
“For the Quadrifoglio model, we’ve got some options each on the pure thermal (ICE) engine and the electrification facet. Once more, we wish to have one thing that’s related for the market at the moment… and coherent with the Quadrifoglio emblem on the facet of the automobile,” Mr Guzzafame defined.
“Every (mannequin) program will solely be supplied with a Quadrifoglio model – relying on whether or not or not there may be demand for that particular sort of auto, so we’ll resolve at a later stage whether or not to introduce that or not… we’ll see whether or not the market will go in that course.
“For the pure thermal petrol engine that’s on the way in which, for now we solely have a left-hand-drive model developed. However right-hand-drive is an possibility that we’re investigating,” he concluded.
The Alfa Romeo Tonale shall be manufactured at Stellantis’ Pomigliano d’Arco facility in Italy. It’s primarily based on a modified model of the platform that underpins the Fiat 500X and 500L, Jeep Compass and Renegade.
The Alfa Romeo Tonale will go on sale domestically originally of 2023 as a rival to the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLA. Pricing and full specs shall be revealed nearer to the mannequin’s launch.
