Italy’s state police has a new weapon in its fight against crime – and hefty fuel bills. It’s Alfa Romeo’s little Tonale SUV, which has received the famous blue and white makeover and a full complement of lights and sirens.
You might recall already seeing pictures of a Tonale decked out in police garb, but that was for Italy’s Carabinieri, a separate police force governed by the Ministry of Defense with both military and civilian duties, and whose vehicles feature blue and red liveries. This latest Tonale cop car is for the country’s state police, and wears its equally recognizable light blue and white color scheme that was introduced in the early 1980s – you might remember seeing a Lamborghini Huracan and Gallardo wearing the same outfit.
A total of 850 Tonales are being handed out to Polizia di Stato officers around Italy, helping carry on a tradition that dates back to 1952 when authorities took delivery of 400 1900 TI and 1900 Super sedans. Each of the new SUVs is fitted with a 1.5-liter mild hybrid engine that sends 161 hp (163 PS) to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which is the same powertrain fitted to base models of the Tonale offered to the public.
What regular civilian buyers don’t get is the cop version’s “ballistic and anti-shatter protection,” the blue lights sunk into the nose on either side of the iconic Alfa grille, roof-mounted lights, and siren, in-car radio system or a special notch in the door armrest to hold the lollipop-shaped sign Italian cops like to wave around.
The mild-hybrid Tonale’s 8.8-second zero to 62 mph (100 kmh) time – call it 9-plus with all the cop gear attached – means it’s going to be better suited to low-speed urban duties than trying to catch motorway speeders, but the available 276 hp (280 PS) PHEV’s 6.2-second performance makes it pretty quick for a small box. Dodge already offers a version of that same powertrain in its rebadged Tonale, the Hornet, so perhaps U.S. cops conscious about heavy fuel costs should think about adding one of the pocket-sized SUVs to their fleets.
