SUV

AWD

Alfa Romeo intends to sell over 400,000 cars per year by 2018, with about 150,000 of the automobiles to reach American dealerships. The all-new 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia will be at the forefront of the Italian invasion, but this is only the beginning of the company’s long-awaited rebirth. The first of those all-new models that will follow the Giulia is a crossoverinternally known as Tipo 949 and based on the Giulia sedan.Another crossover SUV will follow soon after, joined by a compact executive car believed to be the two-door coupe version of the Giulia sedan. A speciality vehicle (we bet a tenner it’s a two-seater roadster based on the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata) and two compact models (including a Giulietta replacement) are the last of the bunch. For now, let us focus our attention on the 2017 Alfa Romeo Tipo 949 crossover.It may wear a makeshift Fiat 500L body shell, but look more closely and you’ll spot what’s what: the extended wheelbase, huge rear quarter windows, two exhaust tips, raised ground clearance, and bulge in the lengthened hood are the name of the game here. This isn’t a 500L, but an Alfa that wears better camouflage than Cpt. Willard at the end of Apocalypse Now.Alfa Romeo of North America brand head Reid Bigland said back in April that a D-segment SUV is slated to arrive late in 2016 or in early 2017. To go against the likes of the Porsche Macan, BMW X3, and Mercedes-Benz GLC, the 2017 Alfa Romeo Tipo 949 crossover SUV will receive pretty much the same RWD/vehicle architecture as the Giulia (Tipo 952).That translates to a six-speed manual or a ZF-developed 8-speed automatic, an engine selection that comprises of four and six-cylinder turbocharged petrol and diesel powerplants, as well as a high-performance variant with 510 horsepower courtesy of a Ferrari-developed 3.0 twin-turbo V6.Like the, the crossover SUV has all the chances to receive Quadrifoglio Verde insignias when animated by the Ferrari six-banger. As far as the 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint is concerned, the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV can do it in just 3.9 seconds. Have a guess what the SUV will be capable of...