Alfa Romeo rewrites large car future
Chrysler tie-up means big changes for Italian brand but also means a longer waitWhat you are looking at here could be the Alfa Romeo's assault on the premium sedan market. This illustration from Carparazzi is our best indication of how the Italian brand's replacement for the 166 executive sedan could look.
Borrowing heavily from the 8C Competizione supercar's design themes, the new model looks set to join the growing list of 'four-door coupes' along with the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Jaguar XF. But Alfa Romeo wants this car to also tackle the German trio of midsize sedans that currently dominate the market; Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E Class.
Currently referred to as the '169', Alfa Romeo will give the car a new name rather than a number. This decision follows the footsteps of MiTo and the soon-to-debut Milano and Giulia. However, there has been no indication yet on what moniker this new model will wear.
What is known is that the 169 will sit on a new platform developed in association with Alfa Romeo's new partner, Chrysler. The American firm needs to invest in new underpinnings for the 300C as well as the Dodge Charger, because its current rear-wheel drive architecture remains based on a two-generation old Mercedes-Benz E-Class platform.
A modified version of the same platform also sits under the Dodge Challenger which means there is plenty of potential for Alfa Romeo/Chrysler-Dodge to make use of it rumoured collaboration.
Reports from America are indicating that the 169 will use unique powertrains and suspension but be built on the same production line in Canada as the 300C and Charger. There have also been reports that the next generation Spider and Brera sportscars could utilise the rear-wheel drive platform to give the cars a more dynamic drive.
The only stumbling block is that because the alliance between the Italian and American companies is still so new, the time to develop this proposed new architecture is pushing back the launch of the 169 until 2013.
There have also been reports from Europe that Alfa Romeo will now push back the release of the Giulia (159 replacement) until 2012. This has led to speculation that it too could sit on a platform shared with Chrysler-Dodge.
Alfa Romeo has already announced that it is looking to forge a closer relationship with Dodge to share platforms as part of the Fiat-Chrysler alliance. Dodge, in turn, may hive off Ram trucks as a new brand name to allow its nameplate to be associated with performance cars only.
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