Alfa Romeo readying SUV onslaught

When the Alfa Romeo Stelvio arrives in Australia late this year, it will provide a taste of what's to come as the Italian brand prepares to expand its SUV range from zero to three models by 2020.

Alfa's first SUV, the five-seat Stelvio mid-sizer, will be followed by two all-new crossovers within three years, including the compact 'Kamal' city-SUV to rival Audi's Q3 and the large 'Castello' seven-seater to compete with the BMW X5.

Both models will leverage the company's new Giorgio platform and distinctly Italian design ethos seen with the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV, including an eye-catching triangular grille up front and curvaceous profiles, as suggested by these computer-generated artists' impressions.

Although the Kamal name has been trademarked by the car-maker, neither of the new Alfa Romeo SUV names have been officially confirmed. However, the models themselves have been part of a five-year product offensive first revealed in 2015, and both are scheduled to be launched globally before the year 2020.

The Kamal will replace the MiTo compact hatchback that is no longer sold in Australia. It could be priced at under $40,000 in the local market and is expected to make use of four-cylinder engines -- unlike the Stelvio which will be offered in QV guise with a hard-hitting 2.9-litre turbo-petrol V6 belting out 375kW.

At the other end of the scale the big, three-row Castello will see the Italian brand play in another all-new segment. It's not yet clear what engines it will offer but a range of turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel powerplants are all but certain.

The first model in Alfa's five-year business plan, the Giulia, is already on sale in Australia and the Stelvio will follow by December, after which it's expected to become the brand's top-selling vehicle Down Under.

It will rival vehicles such as the Audi Q5, Porsche Macan and Mercedes-Benz GLC, which are among those brands' top-selling models.

Alfa Romeo's revitalisation plans will focus heavily on its trio of SUVs to build volume (which has all but evaporated in Australia), but several other new models will emerge before 2020 too.

The first of these will be two 'specialty' models likely to be based on the Guilia – a coupe and a convertible that could revive the Sprint and Spider names for Alfa respectively.

The seventh and eighth models based on the Giorgio platform will be a redesigned Giulietta hatch that could bring rear-wheel drive, and a belated replacement for Alfa's long-forgotten 166 large sedan.

As its flagship sedan and largest passenger car, the 166 successor will be jam-packed with luxurious materials and lots of techno bells and whistles as the brand attempts to re-position itself as a genuine rival to Germany's prestige trio -- BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

The all-new rear-drive Giulietta hatch, meanwhile, could be another strong seller for the brand if executed thoughtfully, offering an affordable but engaging alternative to the likes of the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series hatches.