From What Was: New Compact Alfa Romeo Crossover Appears in First Teaser

Alfa Romeo, a brand within the Stellantis corporation, has released the first image of its upcoming compact crossover, currently known as the Alfa Romeo C-SUV. The premiere of this new model is expected only in the fourth quarter of 2027, with official briefings indicating that no surprises should be expected from the Alfa Romeo C-SUV.

In May, the Stellantis corporation presented a new five-year development strategy called FaSTLAne 2030, at which time it was also announced that the status of the Alfa Romeo brand had been devalued from global to regional, implying that Alfa Romeo’s development will proceed on a residual basis.

Over the next five years, Alfa Romeo will introduce only two new models — the C-SUV crossover and a small-series sports car from the special projects division Bottega Fuoriserie, which was launched at the end of last year and serves both the Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands. We suspect that the new Alfa Romeo sports car will be based on the recently updated Maserati GranTurismo coupe; there are no official details on this model yet, but information on the Alfa Romeo C-SUV is now available.

The press release states that the Alfa Romeo C-SUV will be based on the modular STLA Medium platform, and its production will be set up at the Stellantis plant in the Italian commune of Melfi. From these details, it is easy to conclude that the Alfa Romeo C-SUV will be a technical clone of the recently unveiled Lancia Gamma and DS No. 7 crossovers — they are also produced at the Melfi plant. The DS No. 8 and the third-generation Jeep Compass, also based on the STLA Medium platform, are already being manufactured there.

The teaser image of the Alfa Romeo C-SUV shows a section of the sloping rear, indicating a kinship with the Lancia Gamma. It is clear that the lighting and many other design elements of the Alfa Romeo C-SUV will be unique, but the range of powertrains will be roughly the same as other Stellantis models on the STLA Medium platform. This means that powerful gasoline versions should not be expected; decent performance will only be provided by expensive and heavy plug-in hybrid and electric versions with a 400-volt architecture.

An inquisitive reader familiar with the FaSTLAne 2030 strategy might ask why the latest STLA One platform with an 800-volt architecture wasn’t used for the Alfa Romeo C-SUV. We don’t know the answer, but we assume it’s because Stellantis management is not yet willing to spend a single extra euro cent on Alfa Romeo’s development, and therefore uses ready-made solutions.

Meanwhile, the first production vehicle on the STLA One platform is promised for the same year 2027, when the Alfa Romeo C-SUV is released. Presumably, it will be adopted by a model from one of Stellantis’s global brands — Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, or Fiat.

What commercial name the Alfa Romeo C-SUV will receive is still unknown, but some Western media outlets claim that the name Giulietta will be taken from the archives for it.

The new C-SUV will effectively replace the current compact crossover Alfa Romeo Tonale in the brand’s lineup, which is produced at the plant in Pomigliano d’Arco (Italy). In 2027, this plant will be repurposed for the production of affordable electric vehicles under the E-Car project, which are expected to hit the market in 2028.