When Alfa Romeo introduced the production version of the Tonale last year, few would have thought that Stellantis could have completed a rather shockingly simple rebadge job for the Dodge Hornet. And even fewer would have imagined that the two would have such a massive price difference in the USA. That being said, Stellantis can no longer surprise us, even if they decide to rebadge the Hornet as the Fiat for select overseas markets as these reader photos from Turkey suggest.
Read: 2023 Dodge Hornet Lands With Italian Looks, 285HP Electrified R/T And $29,995 Starting Price
This intriguing prototype of the Dodge Hornet was spotted wearing Turkish license plates earlier this week by CarScoops reader Talip. According to Talip, “If you see the number plate, it starts with 16, which is the area code of the city Bursa where Fiat’s Turkey factory is located”. Talip went on to explain that “the Fiat Tipo will be discontinued in 2025 from Bursa factory, while the Ram Promaster City/Fiat Doblo is also moving to another factory, therefore the plant will be empty. There was already a rumor about a new SUV for the Bursa factory. Most probably the Hornet will be manufactured here”, he said.
We reached out to Fiat regarding the possibility of it selling a rebadged version of the Dodge Hornet, but have not heard back yet. Such a move wouldn’t come as a shock given that the Hornet itself is a rebadged version of the Alfa Romeo Tonale. Selling the new crossover in some overseas markets like Turkey and possibly even certain Latin American markets, could help boost sales (and production) significantly.
Tell me about this prototype
The test vehicle is finished in the same shade of gold that the Hornet was unveiled with back in August last year and its front fascia appears identical. Things then get interesting at the rear. For the most part, it looks just like the Hornet. However, like the Alfa Romeo Tonale, it has space for a circular badge in the center of the LED light bar. This space could perfectly fit a Fiat badge. This prototype also sports a certifiably basic rear bumper that’s much simpler than the bumpers of the U.S.-spec Hornet and the Tonale.
Beyond the new badges, any potential Fiat version of the Dodge Hornet / Alfa Tonale would probably be mostly identical from a mechanical perspective. However, we could see an entry level version with less oomph than the base European mildly hybridised 1.5-litre turbo four making 158 hp in the Alfa. It’s also possible that the Hornet’s plug-in hybrid powertrain could be featured, combining a 1.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with an electric motor to produce in excess of 285 hp and 383 lb-ft (519 Nm) of torque.
Thanks to Talip for the photos!
