New Alfa Romeos Sports car, saloon, SUV on the way
Rapid recovery accelerates Alfa's new sports car plans, T33 Stradale-inspired concept due next year; SUV and saloon roll-out continues
A modern-day Alfa Romeo sports car could be on the cards sooner than expected, thanks to a fast recovery by the brand under boss Jean-Philippe Imparato and owner Stellantis.
The new sports car, which will feature design cues from the T33 Stradale, will be show nearly next year, Imparato has confirmed, likely in the form of an advanced sketch or concept.
Any new sports car from Alfa Romeo had been expected to arrive later this decade after the brand had further proven itself with models such as the new Tonale SUV in bigger-selling segments.
The forthcoming sports car was expected to be electric, inline with Alfa's plans to have an all-electric line-up from 2025, but Imparato hinted that it may arrive much sooner and could even be combustion-engined.
“For the moment, I have two scenarios: full ICE or full EV," he said. “It will be very exciting, very selective and very expensive."
He added: “You will see something in that field in terms of sportiness in the first half of 2023. We use one word to define the brand and it’s ‘sportiness’."
When asked if the new car could be reminiscent of the T33 Stradale, he said: “I can say yes, but I can’t say anything else. We have so many fantastic ideas based on our iconic history."
Imparato has previously name checked the Spider ‘Duetto’ as another model he would like to see reflected in future sports models.
Alfa Romeo will also launch a new large electric saloon in 2027, Imparato has confirmed, as it continues a strategy of releasing a new car every year for the next five years. The BMW 5 Series rival will be a global model and there fore sold in the UK, but it will target the US and China in particular on account of its size.
Despite demand for large SUVs surging in recent years, Imparato said: “Knowing the DNA of Alfa Romeo is saloons and sportiness, the answer will probably not be an SUV.
“I want to reinvent sportiness for the 21st century, providing a high level of range and a high level of performance while also protecting the customer in terms of roominess but with out destroying the aerodynamics, which is a key driver of our future development.
“At some point in time, we will have to evolve the concept of what an SUV is in2027. But for me, aero means a saloon [of sorts] which ties into Alfa Romeo's DNA."
Talking about creating a car with the US market in mind, Imparato said: “I highly value that we're selling cars in America and China and Asia. If I want to be consistent in going premium and going global, then I have to be present inthe premium E-segment."
While Imparato has said the BMW 3 Series-rivalling Giulia, Alfa's only existing saloon, will live on, this new model will be bigger in size rather than a direct replacement, given the demand in the US for significantly larger cars than those sold in Europe.
In the brand's nearer future, the crucial plug-in-hybrid variant of the Tonale will arrive in November, and a small electric SUV will arrive in 2024 - another model that’s crucial for volume sales.
Talking about Alfa Romeo'ssuccess as Stellantis announced its half-year results, Imparato confirmed that the Italian firm had made the same profit in the first half of this year as it did for all of last year, standing it in good stead to prove its worth within the Stellantis empire.
“Giulia and Stelvio sales are up, which is important to me," said Imparato. “This is a test of our resilience in a shaky market with so many head winds. That's before we launched the Tonale. Now we have the Tonale and we're facing new market conditions. We will see if we're resilient in our performance in the next six months.
“I want to be the global premium brand of Stellantis. If I want to be this level, I must be competitive on profit per unit against the market and around my colleagues. That is how I become credible and get the investment fromCarlos [Tavares, Stellantis CEO] to feed my product line to 2030 and beyond."
IMPARATO S EV APPROACH
“I want to jump into universal electrification without any friction compared to the combustion-engined experience," said Imparato.“What does that mean?You charge in 20 minutes max, which means 800V charging. That's howAlfa Romeo will enter the segment. I want to be able to tell you that I can give you the right level of design and attractiveness without jeopardising a range above 700km [434 miles], and we do that with aero. AndI want to be able to tradeoff between weight and handling. This is what will make the difference between us and others."