Rumor Says Dodge Hornet PHEV Won't Share Engine With Alfa Tonale

It will more likely get a variation of the PHEV powertrain that can be found in the new Jeep Wrangler 4xe.

2006 Dodge Hornet Concept

Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

Aug 31, 2021 at 7:27am ET

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Dodge hasn’t had a smaller crossover in its lineup ever since it stopped making the Journey, and that’s a very lucrative market segment that any manufacturer wants to be present in right now. That’s why Dodge is planning to launch a new model in 2022 to fill that niche and it will be a brother of the Alfa Romeo Tonale alongside which it will also be built, in the Pomigliano D’Arco factory in Naples, Italy.

Both vehicles will share the FCA Small Wide 4x4 platform also used to underpin the Jeep Compass and Renegade, although now that Fiat-Chrysler was bought by PSA and became part of Stellantis, this is most likely one of this platform’s last uses. In the future, Stellantis will for the most part shift all models from the brands that it now controls onto revised versions of PSA’s platforms.

When it comes to the Hornet’s plug-in hybrid powertrain, Mopar Insiders says it won’t actually be shared with the Tonale. The Alfa crossover will come with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder that in conjunction with electric boost will make around 200 horsepower, but this may not be enough for the Dodge variant of the vehicle.

The source says that the Hornet is more likely to feature a 2-liter four-cylinder, the same one that powers various Alfa Romeo, Maserati and even Jeep models. Its internal codename is GME-T4 and in the Veloce version of the Giulia or Stelvio, for instance, it makes 276 horsepower.

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Currently, the GME-T4 is only part of a plug-in hybrid in the new Jeep Wrangler 4xe and there’s a good chance the new Dodge Hornet will be powered by a variation of it. In the Wrangler, it makes a combined 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet (637 Nm), but because the Jeep is quite heavy, it still needs 6.4 seconds to reach 100 km/h from nought.

The new Hornet PHEV crossover is one of nine new plug-in hybrids announced by Dodge, and based on the brand's profile they all should have a sporty edge to them. The manufacturer also teased what is probably its most exciting new car, a still unnamed fully-electric retro-inspired muscle car.