Alfa Romeo goes ‘RWD’ again with revolutionary D-platform
Interesting new Alfa Romeo developments, as Fiat-Chrysler employees have brought out information about a rear-wheel driven Alfa for the D-platform, once again in collaboration with Dodge. The recently introduced Dodge Dart (with Giulietta technique) is another product and result of the increasing collaboration between these two brands. Now it seems they will reach another milestone in this Italo-American relationship. Dodge and Alfa Romeo will be positioned as two FGA performance brands (also from a historical point of view). One will be specifically designed to suit the American taste, the other will be a global Italian brand that is extremely recognizable by its dynamic character. Only from an economic point of view, the two brands will share their technical DNA.
Right from the start Auto Edizione presumed this was a ‘D-Evo’ platform, which would be a shorter version of the longer ‘E-Evo‘ platform. However this is not the case. The E-platform will be used for future cars of Lancia, Chrysler, Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Maserati. This platform is already in the final stages of development and will be used this summer in a new E-segment Maserati, to be build near Turin. Presumably for strategic reasons, FGA then has decided not to borrow the E-Evo technique to build the “D-Evo” platform. Although maybe more cost efficient as we thought, in the end this will be a more obvious solution and will generate more credibility. According to CEO Marchionne this will be the segment in which Alfa and Dodge will be highly competitive. Not only coupés and Spiders but also regular sedans and Sportwagons will share the same techinque.
The new D-platform is specifically manufactured by Italian engineers who have come to Detroit for a longer period. Two years of industrial planning have resulted in an ambitious and prestigious project. Initially they opted for a shorter versions of the ‘E-Evo’, but now a total new solution has been implemented. The last car to use this shorter E-platform will be the new Dodge SRT Barracuda with 6.2 Hemi . New Alfa Romeo vehicles and the new Dodge Avenger (positioned between the Dart and the Charger) will result in a better global offering, all sharing the same platform. Engine-wise they will use the powerful 1.4 MultiAir, the 1.8 (the TBI from FPT) and a new generation of 6 cylinder engines that is planned. The new Dodge and Alfa cars will be one the market from 2014 onwards. After a lot of speculations in the last few years, a mysterious Alfa future will now be a more hopeful and realistic one.