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Alfa Romeo Giulia is going electric

In an interview with Auto Express, Alfa Romeo's CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato revealed a bunch of details about the future of the company and electric vehicles. But the most interesting is that, despite the world's insatiable appetite for SUVs, the Giulia sport sedan will get another generation, and one that's entirely electric. Apparently, the car will be built on the STLA Large platform, one of several EV architectures Stellantis announced back July. Considering that there will be STLA Small and STLA Medium platforms, we're a little surprised that Alfa would go with the big option, since the current Giulia isn't particularly big. It could be that Alfa is aiming for particularly long range from the next Giulia, and maybe even more interior space. We bring up range because the Large platform is said to accept 101-kWh to 118-kWh of battery capacity and up to 500 miles of range. It may also be sharing the platform and development with the future Stelvio, like the current one does with the Giorgio platform. Imparato also talked a bit about the high-performance Quadrifoglio models. The company is definitely still open to them in the electric era, but only if they can make them perform the way they want. That seems unlikely to be an issue for a couple of reasons. One, Imparato told Auto Express that the man who helped develop the Giulia Quadrifoglio GTA is on the team developing STLA Large. The other is that Stellantis has a wild range of motors planned. At the low end will be 94-horsepower motors, but at the other will be 402-horsepower units. There should be a pairing in there that finds a good balance between raw power and finesse, especially when just one makes around 80% of the power of the current Quadrifoglio's twin-turbo V6. Stellantis aims to have its 500-mile STLA Large platform cars, among the others, ready for 2024. Odds seem good that the electric Alfas will start showing up at that time, since the brand is planning to be fully electric in 2027. That will make it the first Stellantis brand to be entirely electric. Related Video: 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid powertrain feature walkthrough | Autoblog

2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale First Drive: An electrifying Italian alternative

MILAN, Italy – Chicken or egg? ItÂ’s often a matter of perspective. In this case, the 2023 Dodge Hornet is based on the 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale – itÂ’s even built in Italy – yet it was the Dodge that arrived first on American shores. By the narrowest of margins, true, but it happened nevertheless. That leaves the Tonale (pronounced "toe-nal-ay," not "toe-nail") to carve out a premium niche for itself above the buzzy Italian-American.   How? For starters, the Tonale is exclusively available as a plug-in hybrid in the United States. Only Canada and Mexico will get the lower-output, gasoline-only variant. Producing 285 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque combined, the plug-in powertrain consists of a 1.3-liter turbocharged four-banger and six-speed automatic transmission up front and a 121-horsepower electric motor on the rear axle. ThereÂ’s no physical connection between them, so power from the gas engine canÂ’t be sent rearward or vice versa. That means the Tonale is effectively rear-wheel drive when in electric-only mode. It can run like that for more than 30 miles if the 15.5-kilowatt-hour battery is fully charged, which requires about 2.5 hours on a level 2 setup. Provided you donÂ’t ask more of the powertrain than the battery and motor are able to deliver, it will putter along in combustion-free silence. Mashing the throttle will engage the gas engine no matter what hybrid mode youÂ’re in; more on those below. The standard Tonale is equipped with a MacPherson strut suspension with Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) shocks. They may sound like fancy electronic dampers but FSD shocks do their magic without any digital intervention. While not as sharp as performance-tuned shocks, nor as comfortable as those engineered to deliver the best ride, they offer a solid balance that is much less costly or complex than the adaptive setup that comes standard on the range-topping Veloce model. The VeloceÂ’s adaptive suspension is incorporated into Alfa's "DNA" drive mode selection system, tightening up in “Dynamic” and backing off in “Natural” and “Advanced Efficiency.” The TonaleÂ’s other sporty add-ons — aluminum steering column-mounted paddle shifters, aluminum pedals and red Brembo calipers with white Alfa Romeo script — are part of the “High Performance Driving Package,” which is optional on the mid-range Sprint and baked into the Veloce. The hybrid modes mentioned earlier exist outside the D-N-A dial.

2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale previewed ahead of February unveiling

After a false start, Alfa Romeo is finally ready to introduce the production version of the Tonale concept it presented in 2019. It released a short video on its social media channels to preview the model, which will be positioned below the Stelvio as an entry-level crossover. The murky, 12-second flick highlights the Tonale's digital instrument cluster, which features a layout called "cannocchiale" ("telescope" in Italian) by the brand. It seemingly consists of a screen flanked by a pair of round dials, and it's loosely inspired by the layout found in some of Alfa's classic models. Later examples of the 115-series GTV used a pair of large analog gauges separated by warning lights and smaller gauges. Discover driver-centric design in the cockpit of the new #AlfaRomeoTonale, featuring the multi-functional “Cannocchiale” cluster. “La Metamorfosi” begins February 8th. https://t.co/7tknJCcFTR pic.twitter.com/dh7o9BUwBq — Alfa Romeo USA (@AlfaRomeoUSA) January 26, 2022 What's more interesting than the cluster is the image of the Tonale that appears on the middle screen. Shown above, it's our first official look at the Stelvio's baby brother. Surprisingly, the crossover shares more styling cues with the 2019 concept than with the prototype spotted at a design clinic later that year. The shape of the grille hasn't changed much, and there are three U-shaped LEDs integrated into each headlight. The rest of the design remains shrouded in darkness. Our crystal ball tells us that the production model will look a lot like a toned-down version of the concept; we're not expecting the proportions to significantly change. Unverified rumors claim that the Tonale will be closely related to the Jeep Compass beneath the sheetmetal, and it will be offered with several engines and at least one plug-in hybrid drivetrain. It's this system that sources say delayed the launch: Alfa Romeo's boss reportedly sent engineers back to the drawing board in April 2021. Alfa Romeo will unveil the Tonale online on February 8, 2022, at 9 a.m. ET, which is 6 a.m. in California. And, while the odds of seeing it on our shores were previously unknown, Alfa Romeo's American division all but confirmed in a tweet that the model will be sold here. Related video: