Naming brouhaha heralds Alfa Romeo’s new baby

Perhaps it would not be a true Alfa Romeo without some kind of colourful faux pas to fuel a legend.

The new contender from the Italian firm, envisaged as a significant driver of volume, seems to have been beset by a slight naming issue.

Last week the storied Mediterranean automaker took the wraps off its replacement to the B-segment Mito and C-segment Giulietta, which will be offered in hybrid and full-electric guises.

It was proudly dubbed Milano. A special handle for a special car, they thought, Milan being the economic capital of Italy and the birthplace of Alfa Romeo. You might think such a move would have been met with warmth, patriotism and goodwill.

Instead, they managed to upset the Italian government, which ordered parent company Stellantis to change the name of the imminent model.

Opening the press release that landed in my inbox this morning, the first sip from my cup of chai was nearly sprayed on the laptop screen. It was titled, and this is not a late 1 April joke: “Milano name is not OK? Alfa Romeo Junior then.”

Forgive me for typecasting, but I surely could not have been the only one to read that in my head with an accent.

It is a laughable scenario, this, but with an apparently serious side too.

“An Italian government official declared the use of the name Milano is banned by law,” the release said.

Understandably, Alfa Romeo's tone about the debacle has hints of bitterness.

“Despite Alfa Romeo believing the name met all legal requirements and there are issues much more important than the name of a new car, Alfa Romeo has decided to change it from Milano to Alfa Romeo Junior in the spirit of promoting mutual understanding.”

The manufacturer thanked the government for the free publicity in their media statement.

“We decided to change the name, even though we know we are not required to do so, because we want to preserve the positive emotion our products have always generated and avoid any type of controversy,” said CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato.

“The attention to our new sports compact we’ve received the past few days is quite exciting as we had an unprecedented number of visits to the online configurator, causing the website to crash for a few hours.”

Devoted Alfisti may take consolation in the revival of the Junior name, which traces its roots to September 1966 when the GT 1300 Junior was unveiled. The new Junior does seem like an interesting prospect.

Visually, the model has a distinctive frontal signature, with the characteristic grille taking on a fresh interpretation. From the pictures, it appears striking, if not beautiful in a classic sense. The interior design is typically sporty in flavour, with a chunky three-spoke steering wheel. And a surprising number of physical buttons complementing the fitment of a central touchscreen.

Zooming in, you might be able to spot a number of generic elements from the Stellantis parts bin. Powertrain options are electric and hybrid. The latter uses a 1.2-litre, turbocharged-petrol unit, aided by a 48-volt lithium-ion battery and compact electric motor. The full-electric model relies on a 54kWh battery and electric motor outputs in two states of tune. The least powerful of the pair lays claim to a driving range of 590km.

Stellantis South Africa is yet to confirm when the Junior will be launched on local shores. This week it is offering national media a sneak peek at forthcoming models, with a testing event. Look out for our report in the April 28 edition of Sunday Times Lifestyle Motoring.