Dodge's next small car snapped in Death Valley

Remember the Dodge Hornet? Just a few years ago, the chunky funster was rumored to be the automaker's first foray into the subcompact B-segment, and it was even scheduled to be produced in conjunction with Chinese automaker Chery. These plans never came to fruition, and we've had to soldier on with the unloved Caliber as Dodge's only small car offering. It's time for something new.

Now that Fiat has taken control of the Chrysler Group, a whole slew of new products will be worked into the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep lineups, including a new Alfa Romeo-based small car that might just pick up where the Hornet left off, albeit in a slightly larger (C-segment) package. Seen here testing in the Death Valley heat, the prototype still wears a lot of its Alfa skin, though our spies indicate that the front end design (complete with LED strip) may carry over to the production car, and it's possible that the sheetmetal will, as well.

Mum's the word on when Dodge's new small car will debut, but when it does, we expect the demise of the Caliber around the same time. Click through our high-res image gallery to see the full slew of spy shots.