Alfa Romeo’s Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos discusses the design of the Junior
Not so long ago, for reasons that seem as inexplicable now as they did then, one of the most popular soft drinks in the world, Coca Cola changed its recipe. What followed was a sales disaster so complete that ‘New Coke’ was hastily withdrawn and the old one reinstated. Some counterintuitive types convinced themselves that Coke had sabotaged its brand on purpose to drum up sales.
They hadn’t, of course – it was a classic case of cock-up over conspiracy. Which brings us to the Alfa Romeo Junior (formerly Milano), the Italian OEM’s entry into the B-segment to address what was felt as a missing string to its bow.
“We had a big empty hole in our brand,” says design VP Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, who has been at the helm of Alfa since replacing Klaus Busse in June 2021. “Doing a new Stelvio or Giulia, that is a story of continuity with a mature cast. With the Junior we needed to break a few rules to make it stand out and bring new people to the brand.”
It might be a new segment for Alfa, but the sporty stance, truncated rear end and confident matt black scudetto punctuating the front mask, are on point for what will be a fresh new design language going forward.
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