Alfa Romeo's new hope for sales success, the Tonale small SUV, appears to have leaked online in close-to-production form well ahead of its unveiling next year.
Images reportedly showing the finished or near-finished design have been posted online, seemingly first by an Italian car forum before being widely shared on social media.
They reveal the car bears a resemblance to the original Geneva motor show concept, but with a number of changes. At the front, the split between the bonnet and front bumper has grown, accomodating more conventional headlights.
The rear window has grown in size, too, while the tail-lights are thicker. The overall proportions remain the same, however.
Set to be unveiled as a production model some time in the middle of 2020 before arriving in showrooms at the end of the year, the Tonale made its UK public debut in concept form at the Goodwood Festival of Speed back in July. It will be a challenger to the BMW X1 and Audi Q3.
The SUV, which will sit below the Stelvio in the Alfa Romeo range, and which takes its name from another famous Italian mountain pass (this one lower and in the Rhaetian Alps), will be the brand's first car to offer plug-in hybrid technology.
Keep up with all the news from the Goodwood Festival of Speed here
The Tonale concept was a surprise unveiling at the Geneva motor show and underlines Alfa Romeo's determination to finally hit the 400,000 per annum sales target - up from around 150,000 in 2018 - that it has long coveted, according to European brand boss Roberta Zerbi.
“We expect the Tonale to become our best-selling car,” said Zerbi. “Combined with our other new products, we expect to have a car to suit the needs of around 80% of all European car buyers by 2024, and that puts Alfa in a much stronger position than today.”
Zerbi also claimed back then that the car would reach production with very few changes beyond details such as adding windscreen wipers and switching it from a four to five-seater. “This concept gives a good indication of the production model,” she said. “It is accurate in not just the proportions, but the details, including the telephone dial wheels, the triple headlamps and the dashboard lines.”
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400,000 per annum sales target (again)
The side on view is so forgettable it might as well be a Qasquai or Mazda and by 2020 the market would have moved on further.
The 400,000 claim is plain dumb, the MiTO has been dropped, Giulietta is due to be dropped and is selling for pennies, the Giulia sales have bombed and the Stevio is merely surviving.
Alfa are putting their head in the sand and when added to the fact they may well be a SUV only company they deserve their demise.
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Takeitslowly wrote:
Blimey, you're digging through some old articles. You must be bored of all that kiddie porn
Wheely, are you serious?
People want BIGGER WHEELS on here? Surely not, I thought this had a bunch of grown-ups mumbling (along with Autocar's testers) that giant wheels are the root of all evil.
This thing looks rather lovely to me, and coming after the attractive Stelvio that's impressive - especially vs the cheap-looking and ghastly-styled Maser SUV.
No, these wheels look fine, it's a mid-series model and I want it to be comfortable and not some pimped-up horror on 23" wheels.
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