Alfa Romeo recently confirmed that the long-awaited small SUV work Tonale will be officially unveiled on the 8th next week, and CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato even showed its outline in advance in a preview photo posted on Twitter on the 3rd.
The Tonale, shown behind the executive team responsible for its design, marketing, manufacturing and specifications, although the entire car is still covered in black cloth, is very similar in silhouette to the Stelvio, which is larger in size.
Alfa Romeo has high hopes for Tonale's sales performance. Instead of holding a physical new car launch, they chose to expose the new car to the world in the form of live online broadcasting. Alfa Romeo emphasized that "La Metamorfosi will begin on February 8."
The new Retired Tonale will be positioned under Stelvio, also named after the famous Mountain Pass in Italy. Meanwhile, tonale will be the first car in the brand to offer Plug-in Hybrid technology.
Before its official debut, Tonale had been captured by foreign media several times and had been road tested to final production specifications. The new car is similar in appearance to the concept car on display at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, but there are still many changes.
In the front part of the car, the height of the headlights is significantly increased, allowing the distance between the hood and the front bumper to be extended. At the same time, the size of the rear window and the thickness of the taillights are also added. However, the proportion of beautiful curves like ripples in water remains unchanged.
Tonale, who made an unexpected appearance as a concept car at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, is the most important weapon for Alfa Romeo to strengthen sales; Roberta Zerbi, Director of Alfa Romeo Europe, said at the time that the brand's goal is to reach the level of 400,000 units sold annually from 150,000 units in 2018. However, the reason for the delay in the launch of the new mass production car is rumored to be that CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato was not satisfied with the performance of his PHEV system, which quoted Jeep Renegade, and the new car was not officially launched until 2022.
Roberta Zerbi stressed at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show: "We expect the Tonale to be the brand's best-selling car and to meet the needs of 80% of European consumers, allowing Alfa Romeo to stand in a different position than it is today."
Roberta Zerbi also said at the time that the production version of Tonale would only make minimal changes to the concept car, such as adding wipers and changing from 4-seater to 5-seater, etc., she reiterated: "Not only the proportions of the appearance, but also the details such as the rim shape of the telephone turntable, the three-eye headlights and the center control line will be retained."
In the past, Alfa Romeo models were amazing in dynamic performance, and in Tonale, they paid more attention to the performance of new energy technology, such as the introduction of PHEV. Thankfully, Tim Kuniskis, then Global Leader of Alfa Romeo, promised that Tonale would have "breakthroughs in advanced engine technology, electrification, endurance, and an amazing Italian design", and that Hybrid technology would not only meet the emission requirements of the regulatory side, but also enhance the vehicle driving experience.
However, foreign media said that Roberta Zerbi has also confirmed that the new car will also provide traditional gasoline power, diesel is also among the possible options. And although foreign media have repeatedly hinted that the new car is likely to use Jeep Renegade's PHEV system, Zerbi has not confirmed this news, only that it will select the most suitable architecture from the group's resources.