The new Alfa Romeo isn’t called Milano at all – this is the new name

It was quite the moment for Alfa Romeo. Last week the brand presented the first Alfa model that is sold in large numbers as an EV (although it is also available with a hybrid). In addition, the new car shows a new design language. To celebrate, Alfa Romeo is letting customers give their feedback. Alfist listened and chose the name Alfa Romeo Milano. That name was also submitted, but now it disappears from the car, a week after it was revealed.

The change of the name is due to the protests of the Italian government. Alfa Romeo concludes: ‘In one of the most important weeks for the future of Alfa Romeo, an Italian government official announced that the use of the name ‘Milano’ – chosen for the newly launched sports car – is prohibited by law. .

Why is Milano banned?

The law referred to stipulates that companies cannot issue misleading orders. “Therefore a car called ‘Milano’ must be manufactured in Italy, otherwise it gives a misleading indication, which is not allowed according to Italian law,” said the Minister of Economic Development of Italy. The car is built in Poland, because it can reduce the purchase price by 10,000 euros.

The Italian brand disagrees with the claims, but still wants to settle down. The brand writes: ‘Alfa Romeo believes that the name meets all legal requirements and that there are more important things than the name of the new car, Alfa Romeo has decided to change “Milano”.’ Alfa says this is done ‘in the spirit of promoting harmony. Alpha provides additional steps. The brand would like to thank the government ‘for the free publicity this debate has generated.’

The new name of Alfa Romeo Milano

The Stellantis brand says that it was no problem to choose a new name and implement the name change. What will happen to all the ‘Milano’ badges is anyone’s guess. ‘It was a pleasure going through the list of names chosen as favorites from the audience’s suggestions. From there the brand got its name Alfa Romeo Junior more beautiful.

Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Phillipe Imparato responds to the news: ‘We have decided to change the name, although we know that this is not necessary, because we want to maintain the positive feelings that our products have always evoked and avoid any kind of controversy they want to avoid.’ According to him, the attention of the Milano, or er, Junior was so great that the Alfa website crashed due to the number of visits to the online developer.

The new Milano name is not new to Alfa Romeo. In 1966, the brand presented the Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior as the successor to the Giulia and the Giulia Sprint GT. The car had a 1.3 liter engine with twin camshafts that produced 89 hp. Over 92,000 units of the GT 1300 Junior were sold in its time. Can the new Alfa Romeo Junior match that?