Alfa Backs Down On Milano Name Controversy; Renames It Alfa Romeo Junior

Following the Italian government’s claim that the Polish-built crossover’s name was ‘illegal’, Alfa has opted to change it

Mike Bartholomew

15 Apr 2024

Last week, we heard that Italy’s industry minister, Adolfo Urso, had objected to the name of the Milano, Alfa Romeo’s new baby crossover. The issue, he said, was that the car is to be built in Poland, and an Italian law bans products with names explicitly linked to Italian geography from being built outside the country.

The law has mainly been used on food and drink products in the past, such as to prevent imitations of authentic Parmigiano Reggiano cheese from being produced outside its namesake regions. We weren’t sure it could actually be invoked for a car, and thought it was political posturing intended to make a point about this being the first non-Italian-built Alfa. We were wrong.

In an official and rather tongue-in-cheek press release (translated from Italian), Alfa has announced that the car has been renamed – it’s now the Alfa Romeo Junior. The company is sticking to its guns in the belief that the original name was legal, but is making the change “with a view to promoting a climate of serenity and relaxation.”

The company’s CEO, Jean-Philippe Imparato, said: “We [decided] to change, even though we know that we are not obliged to do so, because we want to preserve the positive emotions that our products have always generated and avoid any type of controversy.” The release also thanks the Italian government for “the free publicity induced by this debate.”

Like Milano, the name Junior is one Alfa has used before – it was used to denote the smallest-displacement, 1.3-litre versions of the gorgeous Giulia Sprint GT coupe of the 1960s. There was also a Zagato-bodied offshoot, named the Junior Zagato.

This isn’t even the first twist in this car’s naming story – originally, all hints pointed to it being called Brennero. This is the Italian form of Brenner, which, like Tonale and Stelvio, is an alpine pass in the country’s north. A teaser video last December seemed to confirm this by showing the Brenner Pass’s coordinates, so the original Milano name came as something of a surprise.

Now, in one of the strangest car name stories we can remember, that name’s been consigned to the history books too.

The first full sentence spoken by an infant Mike was a review of the ride quality of a Volvo 850. It was “Daddy’s car goes bumpy-bump on a bumpy road,” so would probably need proofreading a bit, but it was a start.