After grand political scandal about which we informed you , the Italian government banned the use of the Milano name. For this reason, Alfa had to rename its new car very quickly.
So, just in less than a week after being presented for the first time, we will have to say goodbye to Milano and say welcome to Alfa Romeo… Junior. Yes, the situation looks like a third-rate comedy from the mid-90s.
But the renaming is a fact and now (according to Top Gear) we already have a compact SUV that is not made in Italy, but in Poland and that shares a platform with cars like the Opel Corsa. But it bears the name of the legendary brand.
Here is the official statement from Alfa Romeo:
„During one of the most important weeks for Alfa Romeo's future, an Italian government official has announced that the use of the Milano name is prohibited by law, Alfa says.
„Although Alfa Romeo believes that the name meets all legal requirements and that there are issues far more important than the name of a new car, Alfa Romeo decided to change it from Milano to Junior in the spirit of promotion of mutual understanding.“
The name Milano, a fan favorite, was chosen to pay tribute to the city where the entire history of Alfa Romeo began in 1910. This is not the first time that Alfa Romeo has consulted its fans in the selection in the name of a car. It had previously been done in 1966 with the Spider 1600, when the name chosen by the Alphaists was Duetto.
Although Alfa Romeo believes that the name meets all legal requirements and that there are issues far more important than the name of a new car, the brand decided to change it from Milano to Junior in the spirit of promoting mutual understanding.
The Alfa Romeo team would like to thank the public for the positive feedback, the Italian dealer network for their support, the journalists for the huge media attention given to the new car and the government for the free publicity caused by this debate.
With a unique history and an endless list of names to choose from, changing the name was no problem for the brand management. Alfa Romeo managers say they were delighted to review the list of names chosen as favorites from fan suggestions, one of which was Junior.