There is much Good graphic design exists in the automotive worldespecially when it comes to them Logos and nameplates used by various companies. The Alfa Romeo badge has been around since 1910 and combines the Milanese cross symbol with a snake with a human in its mouth. (Regardless of what it seems(Apparently, humans are reincarnated, not eaten.) Now the Italian brand has unveiled its first all-electric production car, the new compact crossover Milano, and its grille is an ingenious use of the brand’s branding.
Like almost every other Alfa in history, the Milano has a triangular, shield-shaped grille in the nose, but instead of a typical mesh pattern or grille slats, the intake is formed by an insert shaped like a snakes-and-crosses logo. Well, the logo is actually cut out out of made of sheet metal, just as Alfa’s designers used a cookie cutter for the model. This is something I’ve never seen before and I think it looks very cool.
The Milano will also be available with petrol engines, and these models will receive a different grille treatment clearly retro. Instead of the snake design, the petrol Milano’s grille features a full mesh insert with a large Alfa Romeo lettering slanted in the middle. The font is in Alfa’s cursive font, used in the first decades of the brand’s existence, and the design is reminiscent of some of Alfa’s most famous racing and road sports cars.
Aside from the grille, the rest of the Milano’s exterior design is interesting to say the least. I’ll let Alfa’s press release speak for itself:
Alfa Romeo’s stylists have modeled this “skin” with careful craftsmanship on the mechanical parts, completely breaking away from the concepts of cold rationality fashionable in this class, to give life to a sinuous and exciting design that at first eye catches the eye. This creates a real emotional connection between the driver and the car, even resulting in a strong desire to pet it.
Secure. It has a frowning face with long LED headlights that form small intakes on each side of the grille and a large lower bumper opening. The body sides are smooth and beautifully shaped, and the rear door handles and rear door handles are hidden in the raised C-pillar, creating a floating roof design that is essential. The “cut tail” was inspired by that Giulia TZ, with a thin rod wrapped around the edge of the hatch where the taillights are located. At 164.2 inches long and 59 inches tall, the Milano is about the size of a Kia Soul, and it has short overhangs with large wheels pushed into the corners.
Although not that interesting, the Milano’s interior looks pretty good. A 10.3-inch touchscreen is tilted forward the driver, and a 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster is housed in a “telescopic design” bezel reminiscent of giant vintage instruments. Below the center screen are a row of physical buttons, as well as shift buttons and the engine start button on the tall, thin center console. The Milano is available with Sabelt sports seats, which look really great, and the air vents feature the snake logo and are shaped like a four-leaf clover, a classic Alfa motif. According to Alfa, the Milano has the most spacious cargo space in its class and the back seat looks pretty good too.
The Milano is based on the same CMP platform as other Stellantis products like the Jeep Avenger And Fiat 600e. The electric version of the Milano is called Elettrica and combines a 54 kWh battery with a single electric motor that produces either 156 or 240 hp, depending on the specification. According to Alfa, the lower-performance version has a range of 255 miles on the European WLTP cycle – pretty good for a small car – and can be charged with up to 100 kW to go from 10 to 80 percent charge in under 30 minutes. The Veloce version features sport-tuned steering and lowered suspension, larger brakes, 20-inch wheels with performance tires and a mechanical self-locking differential.
Then there are the Ibrida hybrid models, which combine a turbocharged 1.2-liter inline-three engine with a 48-volt lithium-ion battery and a 21-kW electric motor that integrates with the 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission is. Total output is 136 hp and the hybrid will be available with front- or all-wheel drive. While Alfa does not provide any information about the range, it is said that the Milano Ibrida can achieve 150 km/h purely electrically.
It doesn’t look like the Milano will reach our shores, which is a shame. This little crossover seems to have a lot more personality than the larger Alfa Romeo Tonale and be Dodge Hornet sibling, not to mention many other small cars in the US, but it would almost certainly be a tough sell for most American consumers. Hopefully electric Giulia sedan And Stelvio SUV replacement coming in the next few years will have much of the charm of Milano.
