Alfa SUV on the cards

The first 4WD off-road style Alfa was the 1900M built from 1952-54 for the Italian army to replace their jeeps.

However, the coming Alfa SUV will be a lot more luxurious and will not have a numerical identity. In keeping with Alfa's latest trend it will have a name. But it will not be called Kamal, the name given to the concept SUV that Alfa displayed in 2003. That name could be embarrassing in Australia for obvious reasons.

Edward Rowe, spokesman for Alfa importers Ateco Automotive, says that whatever it is called, the SUV is an "absolutely definite" for Australia.

"As a percentage share of the market 4WD/SUVs in Australia are very big," he says.

"And the premium SUV market is disproportionately larger than in other markets so to have this vehicle is important for us. We have already put our hand up for it."

However, the major intention of Alfa's drive into SUVs is to attack the US market.

"The plan is to return Alfa to the US and obviously you just can't be a player of any significance in the US market without having an SUV," Rowe says. "Alfa can go in with traditional cars, but to have a profitable dealer network they need players in sizeable sectors and one of the most sizeable in the US is SUVs."

Rowe says the Alfa SUV would have "a lot of luxury features".

"It's too early to talk about specifics other than to say it would match the features and equipment of existing Alfas, so you can expect to see a lot of handcrafted leather, advanced telematics and a very distinct Alfa character inside and out," he says.

The drive system will not come from the new Ferrari FF AWD, but will be an American system mated to Alfa's twin-clutch transmission which was originally designed not only for use in transverse front-wheel drives but also longitudinal 4WD installations.

Alfa and Maserati will use the new Jeep Cherokee platform to create separate SUVs. The Alfa will have a combination of four-cylinder and V6 petrol and diesel engines while the Maserati - introduced as a Kubang concept in 2003 - will have a V8 and the six-litre V12 from the Ferrari 599.

Rowe says the Alfa and Chrysler engines would be "high performance and high revving; suitable for the Alfa character". He believes the Alfa SUV will attract new buyers to the Italian marque.