Alfa Romeo hunts for 169 platform; 149 gets its own

[smestas]

Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Hatchbacks, Alfa Romeo

After having being introduced way back in 1998, Alfa Romeo finally stopped production of the 166 last year. Now without a flagship sedan to hold up the top of the range, Alfa is working on the development of its successor. However, the 169 (as the model is expected to be called) has been pushed back at least another three years while the automaker tries to sort out which platform it will be based on.
With an eye towards the American market, Alfa is said to be committed to making the new 169 a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, but the only rear-drive platform the Milanese automaker has in its range belongs to the 8C Competizione, which CEO Luca de Meo recently rejected as a possible donor for the 169. (Rats.) The platform that underpins sister-company Maserati's Quattroporte and GranTurismo was likewise dismissed as too costly, as Alfa Romeo looks to other automakers - chief among them Jaguar, now owned by the Fiat Group's Indian ally Tata - for a suitable rear-drive platform for Alfa's new flagship sedan.
In related news from the other end of the range, the upcoming 149, which - along with the new MiTo - will replace the aging 147, is reportedly getting a brand new platform of its own. The reports contradict earlier suggestions that the five-door hatch would be based on the Fiat Bravo platform when the new 149 is introduced in 2009.
[Source: AutoTelegraaf via Motor Authority]

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[Aghevli]

How does an "eye on the American market" have anything to do with the decision that the 169 is rear-wheel-drive? I would imagine that Europeans are more critical of rwd over fwd since more its roads are curvy while American roads tend to be straighter.

Either way, I'm glad to finally see a sign that Alfa is getting a platform that is more deserving of its cars...even if nothing is concrete yet.

[Echo Leader]

I think it might be that Americans tend to generalize? For example, I've heard many a "car guy" completely dismiss a particular vehicle because it doesn't do 0-60mph in less than some predetermined time that he/she decided equates to "fast". Similarly I've heard people utterly dismiss the possibility of a good FWD car. We euphemistically call it 'wrong wheel drive' sometimes...[insert shrug here]

I don't know that the bulk of potential buyers will think this way, but I think Alfa might be very very concerned with how they are portrayed in the press. The last thing they want said about their introductory models is "they handle surprisingly well, for FWD". Casts the whole experience in the wrong light and I doubt they want that to be America's first impression.