GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Alfa Romeo lands small SUV

Alfa Romeo has created some of the world’s most charismatic petrol engines, with brilliant soundtracks and inspiring performance, but now even it is bowing to the advance of electrons in the 21st century.

Joining the avalanche of electrifiction at this week’s Geneva motor show, the Italian brand has created a landmark plug-in hybrid model, currently known as the Alfa Romeo Tonale but potentially to be called Kamal when it arrives in showrooms at the back end of 2020.

More importantly, the Tonale concept car is a tease for the second SUV in the Alfa family, a small SUV to slot beneath the Stelvio.

“This concept gives a good indication of the production model,” the boss of Alfa Romeo in Europe, Roberta Zerbi, told media at the Geneva show.

“Not just the proportions, but the details, including the telephone dial wheels and the triple headlamps. Also the dashboard lines.”

The Alfa Romeo Tonale is a compact SUV that can trace its roots to the Fiat 500X and Jeep Renegade, a pair of small crossovers that were spawned from the Fiat Chrysler empire created by the late Sergio Marchionne.

The difference is that the Tonale looks good instead of surrendering to the conflicting demands of urban rangers.

It was unveiled at Geneva as talk grows about a large SUV to sit above the Stelvio, wearing a Castello badge, and while Alfa leverages its growing commitment to Formula 1 with special-edition Giulia and Stelvio ‘Alfa Romeo Racing’ models with body bits designed in part by the Sauber F1 squad.

Revealed in Geneva alongside the upgraded 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulietta hatch, the Tonale is a potential rival to a huge range of upscale small SUVs, from the Audi Q3 and BMW X1 to Range Rover Evoque, although the Italian company is not talking about production plans -- yet.

Instead, it’s trumpeting the design and claims that it will provide “unparalleled driving pleasure”. It’s a future car but one that Alfa says is rooted in the past, using names like Stradale, SZ, Brera, Duetto and Disco Volante to justify a smaller SUV sibling for the Stelvio.

There is a traditional Alfa grille, ’telephone dial’ alloys that trace their roots to the 1960s and a heavily sculputed body that looks more like a coupe than a four-door SUV.

Inside, there is space for four with an emphasis on upscale materials, plus a futuristic digital instrument cluster, backlit translucent panels and a 10.25-inch infotainment screen that would be a welcome addition to the Giulia and Stelvio.

Alfa is also using the Tonale to introduce a pair of apps, the ‘Alfistia’ connection to all things through social media and ‘Paddock’ to link to sales, marketing and servicing.

Mechanically, the Tonale has a rear-mounted electric motor which can provide pure electric driving or maximum performance through a ‘dual power’ mode.

“In Tonale, electrification embraces performance and represents a new way to achieve high performance and outstanding driving fun,” says Alfa.

There is no detail yet on the combustion engine in the Tonale, but the car is clearly destined to be fast-tracked to production and that will mean a fair degree of cannibalisation of existing parts.

And the Tonale name? Like the Stelvio, it is an Italian mountain pass between the towns of Valcamonica and Val di Sole.