TURIN, ITALY - If you’re an Alfa Romeo fan that was looking forward to the new GTV and 8C sports cars that the Italian brand promised to introduce by 2022, we have some bad news for you.
Autocar
is reporting that the company has shelved its plans for the two news cars and there is concrete evidence of this in Alfa Romeo's rationalised future product portfolio that was presented to investors last week.
The UK publication quoted Fiat Chrysler boss Mike Manley as stating that the company’s future product plans have been “significantly scaled back, with a corresponding reduction in capital spending”.
But no prizes for guessing what Alfa Romeo will be spending its money on. Yes, you guessed it… another SUV. This will take the form of a B-segment crossover that will likely compete at the upper end of the Volkswagen T-Cross’s segment. Little else is known about the new baby pavement hopper, but the company is planning to launch it in 2022.
This will be Alfa Romeo’s third SUV, joining the Stelvio and soon-to-be-launched Tonale compact crossover.
Thankfully Alfa Romeo isn’t completely giving up on vehicles aimed at enthusiasts as the new product plan does include a refreshed version of the Giulia sedan, which is scheduled for 2021, alongside its Stelvio platform partner.
Incidentally, the reincarnated GTV coupe would have been based quite closely on the Giulia, but featuring a hybrid drivetrain with more than 440kW on tap as well as all-wheel-drive.
Alfa Romeo was also planning to bring back the 8C nameplate as a carbon-fibre monocoque-bodied two-seater with a mid-mounted twin-turbo petrol engine driving the rear wheels and an electric motor powering the front wheels. The total system output was said to be around 515kW, allowing the sports car to dart from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds.