Dodge Hornet Spied Looking Like a Downmarket Alfa Romeo Tonale

• dodge is expected to reveal the hornet in august, and now the new crossover has now been spied testing.
• the hornet will be based on the alfa romeo tonale, and looks incredibly similar to its italian sibling.
• the tonale’s plug-in hybrid powertrain is expected to power the dodge as well, with a turbo 1.3-liter inline-four paired with an electric motor on the rear axle.

in late april, dodge ceo tim kuniskis confirmed rumors that the brand would soon launch a new compact suv. reviving the hornet name used by american motors corporation in the 1970s, the crossover will be based on the recently-revealed alfa romeo tonale, and blurry, leaked images seemed to affirm this back in february. now the hornet has been spied testing, showing just how similar the newest dodge model will be to its alfa romeo sibling.

in the photos, we can see that the hornet’s body shape is basically identical to that of the tonale. the main changes appear on the front fascia, with simplified headlight designs and a rectangular vent between the upper and lower grilles, similar to the look seen on beefier versions of the charger. the taillights and rear bumper look a lot like the tonale's, but this hornet prototype features different wheels, a change from the leaked images that showed it riding on alfa romeo’s “phone dial” wheels.

the hornet is expected to arrive with the tonale’s plug-in-hybrid setup, with a turbocharged 1.3-liter inline-four and an electric motor on the rear axle delivering a total of 272 horsepower. it’s unclear if the tonale’s other powertrain, a nonhybrid turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four with 256 horsepower, will find its way into the dodge. according to kuniskis, dodge is aiming to reveal the hornet in august, so we will have to wait a few more months until we have details of dodge’s first new model in a decade.

source:caranddriver.com