Dodge is getting ready to re-enter the small crossover segment with the 2023 Hornet and this time, instead of relying on Jeep as it did with the Caliber, it’s doing it with the help of Alfa Romeo. The spy photographers caught the first camouflaged prototype of the 2023 Dodge Hornet testing in Michigan.
Dodge Hornet looks
like a rebadged Alfa Romeo Tonale, sharing most of its body panels with the
Italian SUV. Styling differences appear to be focused on the front end which
trades the scudetto for a more conventional slim grille and bumper intakes,
slightly altered US-spec LED headlight graphics, and a new bonnet with
Dodge-style air inlets pointing towards a more performance-oriented R/T version
in this case.
The profile looks identical with the
exception of the smaller-diameter five-spoke wheels. Moving over at the back,
we can see the same LED graphics on the slim taillights, with the Alfa Romeo
badge most likely giving way to the Dodge emblem. The lower portion of the rear
bumper has a different texture compared to the top-spec Tonale that has been
revealed, coming with blocked tailpipes. However, the same part could also be
used in the lower-spec ICE-powered Tonale. The prototype doesn’t have any hybrid
stickers, but we already know that the Dodge Hornet will be offered as a
plug-in hybrid. The powertrain that pairs a turbocharged 1.3-litre turbo engine
to an electric motor might not be as powerful as in the Alfa Romeo Tonale where
it produces 272 hp, but it could match the 237 hp of the mechanically-related EU-spec Jeep Compass 4Xe.
During the announcement for the STLA
architectures last year, Stellantis used a 3D mockup with a BEV platform and
air-springs that looked very similar to the Dodge Hornet. We’ve already heard
that Alfa Romeo may offer a fully electric variant of the Tonale in the future,
which could also translate to a Dodge Hornet EV, although nothing is official
yet. Earlier this month, Dodge boss Tim Kuniskis confirmed that, bar any
surprise delays, the new 2023 Hornet will be officially unveiled in August
2022. Sources suggest the small crossover will be produced in Italy alongside
its Alfa Romeo-badged twin.
