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Alfa Romeo Milano. A bitter pill for traditionalist, hope for the automaker.
The Alfists followed with suspense the fate of Italy’s most famous car manufacturer, founded in 1910, which had been very uncertain for more than a decade.
It is now clear that Alfa Romeo will remain on the automotive map, but it will not come for free. It’s the end of exclusive platforms of the classic concept as well as models that everyone is excited about, but almost no one buys.
The new era is intended to bring the brand back into economic reality, so the brand’s task will be to expand and fill in the blank spaces among those interested in Group technology. And because it is first necessary to create an economic foundation for the next, more joyful steps, Stellantis will no longer spend unnecessarily on the development of new internal combustion Alfas to replace the discontinued small MiTo and Giulietta models. And it goes straight into the electric age.
After all, according to the still unrevised plans, the brand is to be fully electric by 2027, i.e. among the first of the traditional ones.
The first step towards this was only taken this year, when the Alfa Romeo Milano officially launched, as the first all-electric model in the brand’s long history.
Of course, it was created on the group’s technology, specifically on the STLA Small electric platform, and is technically related to the Jeep Avenger and Fiat 600e.
After all, it is also produced together with them at the concern plant in Tychy, Poland, which is another fact that will also increase the pressure of the orthodox Alfists. By the way, it was from this factory that the mythical Maluch, i.e. the two-cylinder Fiat 126P, used to come out in millions of series.
The technology used is no different either, so the NMC battery with a gross capacity of 54 kWh and charging at speeds of 11 kW AC/100 kW DC and a choice of two motors come into play.
The base one develops a familiar power output of 156 hp and should travel up to 400 km according to WLTP. More interesting is the second power kit.
We already know that the Abarth 600e will also get it and should deliver a full-fat 240 hp to the front wheels, which should be helped by an honest mechanical torsen limited-slip differential. On the other hand, the exceptionally steep steering ratio along the widened axles with specific stabilizers, suspension and brakes should make it easier for it to draw curves on winding country roads. All of this should make for the most interesting model in the entire class to drive. Because it’s wrapped up in the now fashionable raised, pseudo-off-road body of the SUV crossover type, the Milano should become not only the most affordable electric Alfa, but also an easy-to-grasp and attractive attraction for new, young customers, who would then ideally stay with the brand.
And because the carmaker is now run by economically oriented managers instead of pure heartthrobs, it is probably the first time that the new Alfa Romeo has already emphasized practicality in addition to sporting aspirations in the press release. And so, right after the opening bunch of the usual Italian adoration, we read, among other things, that Milano will offer a 400-liter trunk, “the largest among premium competition”. But not to exaggerate again, at the end of the same paragraph it says that “the only thing that matters is the fact that it is 100% Alfa Romeo”. So we quickly return to the flowery sentences on the theme of sportsmanship, excitement, sporting heart and a typically Italian look.
This is represented by a conventional five-door body, spiced up with a number of familiar features as well as some new ones. For example, we have camouflaged rear handles, a C-pillar, thanks to an optical trick the pretending line of the small seat (Alfa’s press department speaks of a reference to the legendary historic Alfa Giulia TZ), or the unusually rounded front, which also seems to distance itself from the rest of the proportions when viewed from the side. But the most striking is the new front, which has allowed itself to be bound by tradition just enough to keep it unburdensome, and presents a new, interesting styling with a strong air intake, deeply cut, optically interconnected modules, of which the headlights make up only a part, and the original logo of the top-of-the-range Veloce version, replaced by the historicist Alfa Romeo lettering on the more civilian versions. Completely new tones are then played by the rear, which claims tradition with the number of luminous modules (3+3), but otherwise has found a new way to maximally beautify the object with proportions, which are inherently discordant.
Inside, traditional strings are played openly. First of all, of course, it is the traditional shape of the Cannocchiale dashboard, the round air vents and the typical steering wheel.
The official information talks about top-of-the-line materials, specifically Alcantara on the Veloce version, while a look at the photos talks about the shared elements and controls, masterfully camouflaged in very wavy interior panels.
Cables in frunk have also been given their place, while multimedia offers all of today’s usual modern functions, including panoramic exterior cameras, online navigation and telematics applications.
But that’s never been the primary issue at Alfa Romeo. So we’ll see what her future, new young customers will think about them.
