Back to Alfa Romeo: the most important ever

We must congratulate the Alfa fans for their patience. The famous Italian brand has created impressive cars in the past and can look back on historical (motorsport) achievements. On the other hand, expectations for new models are always high and disappointment lurks.

Expectations were sometimes fully realized; Immediately the brand spit out a good car and Scudetto, but half-baked compromises were often produced. Something that wasn’t even Alfa Romeo’s fault; the brand was often a victim if parent company FIAT didn’t have its affairs in order.

The highlights of the last twenty years were the 156 GTA and the Giulia Quadrifoglio. Sports sedans with only one goal: sharp cornering, sporty and playful driving, attractive design and incredible engines.

More repetition than Cher

But there is little to be seen for consistency in Alfa Romeo. When you’re with a German brand you know for sure that a facelift is coming in 3.5 years, and Alfa hopes a second model will appear in the lineup in 10 years. The brand has more go back his name includes the singer Cher.

The final restoration began in 2016. Under Fiat, an ambitious high-performance program was launched with no less than seven new Alfa models. Two of these were discovered at the time. The Stelvio had to respond to the luxury SUV market, the Giulia was and is a brilliant sports sedan. Giulia Quadrofoglio turned out to be a BMW M3 killer.

But that was in 2016. The great Stellantis is now the new owner of the famous brand. Since then, no new model has been presented, except for the Tonale in 2019. The Tonale was developed under the direction of FIAT and is based on the old Jeep Compass platform. The Tonale is now still sold as the Dodge Hornet. Although the Tonale sells well, it has little to do with Alfa’s original DNA: sporty, fast-driving, light-footed.

The good news is that Stellantis is taking this brand seriously and is slowly building a new, cohesive line. New boss Jean-Phillipe Imparato takes the sports brand under his wing and promises that the brand’s character can be seen in every new model. Small details: all new models will be semi- or fully electric.

Resurrection after Easter

The plan for a new offensive model is now known: this spring in April, after Easter, the revival of Alfa will be marked by the most important model in 8 years: the Milano. A small SUV in the B segment, on the same platform as the Jeep Avenger and the Peugeot 2008.

The Milano gets a mild hybrid engine with 136 hp as we know from other Stellantis models. The full electric version receives a different treatment; all wheels and more than 156 hp of its brothers. Calculate for a range of more than 400 km.

Alfa Romeo Milano is not the only good news, more models are planned. From 2025, every new Alfa model will be fully electric. The new Alfa Romeo Stelvio will be available at the end of 2025. The successor of Giulia will appear in 2026, a crossover model of Peugeot 4008 or Citroen C5-X. The new Giulietta will be released in 2027 and the current Tonale will be replaced in 2028.

Either way, it’s good news to finally see a solid multi-year plan from Alfa Romeo. We hope, with the Alfisti among us, that Alfa manages to keep some of its original dynamic character in electric models.

What if your heart starts beating faster from the Busso’s 3.2 V6 or Twin Spark engine? Will the electric violence be enough to win our hopeful Alpha hearts? Or should we buy one of the last 156 left today, for an apple and an egg, park it under a tarp in our garage and let it continue to mature like a fine wine? Time will tell.