New Tonale or junior SUV? Alfa Romeo remains mum on new teaser

In a surprise weekend reveal, Alfa Romeo released the first official teaser image believed, but not confirmed, to be that of its incoming new SUV set to be positioned below the Tonale.

First view of the ‘Kid’?…

First announced two years ago as becoming a reality, the sub-Tonale had been tipped to wear the Brennero name in reference to a mountain pass in Italy similar to the nomenclature of the Stelvio.

This, however, came to nothing after Alfa Romeo announced in June this year that it decided to leave the name up to the public by means of a vote for the newcomer known internally as “the Kid”.

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Described at the time as an urban SUV that will “rewrite the rules” of what the segment has known until now, the teaser released on Alfa Romeo’s official Facebook page only shows the taillights that are similar in look and design to the Tonale.

Certain to be underpinned by the same CMP platform as the Jeep Avenger, the “junior” Tonale is expected to offer both petrol and electric powertrains, before becoming fully electric in 2027 as per Alfa Romeo’s eschewing of all combustion engines in said year.

“It will be Alfa’s first full-electric vehicle, but it will also offer versions with combustion engines. We’ll launch our first electric-only vehicle in 2025,” Alfa Romeo boss, Jean-Phillipe Imparato, told Automotive News Europe last year when asked about the “Kid”.

…or is it another Tonale variant?

Meanwhile, alternate theories have also emerged that the teaser could be that of an electric Tonale, or even a performance Quadrifoglio version aimed at the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 S, BMW X2 M35i and Audi SQ2.

Despite such a model being ruled-out as late as 2020, in a reversal, Imparato confirmed last year that Milan had started working on a performance variant, before adding it won’t be rushed into introducing it without having done proper development.

“We’re working on a Quadrifoglio version of the Tonale but won’t push the green button unless we can get the highest level of performance,” the pre-Stellantis era Peugeot boss was quoted by Top Gear UK as saying.

More soon

Set to become a reality in 2024, a year incidentally tipped as being the premiere slot for the “Kid”, more details are expected to emerge within the coming weeks leading up to its reveal next year.

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