Yet by March 2006, we had still to see the finished article. Alfa put the project on ice, officially stating that it couldn’t justify launching an SUV until sales of its hatches and saloons had recovered.
Ironic, considering that present-day Alfa executives tell us the brand can’t sell a new supermini or sports car until it has grown its SUV range.
Nonetheless, the Kamal was still “very much being considered”, according to Alfa insiders. By August 2007, it was back on.
Now codenamed CXOver, it was to be twinned with a Fiat crossover, using the underpinnings from the 147’s replacement.
It would offer turbo petrol and diesel power and prices would range from £19k to £30k (roughly £30k-£50k in today’s money). It was a clear departure from the original Kamal brief in all but styling, save for a coupé-like roofline.
Its launch was scheduled for 2010, following the Milano (which would be renamed the Giulietta), and Alfa insiders confirmed that it would be based heavily on the Kamal. By then, though, Alfa had lost the march on the premium crossover market.
BMW was testing X1 prototypes, Audi had shown the Q3-previewing Cross Coupé Quattro concept and, most notably, JLR had shown the LRX concept, a prelude to the Range Rover Evoque.
