Forza Italia: Electric Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce muscles up to battle new breed of EV hot hatches
The all-electric 2025 Alfa Romeo Junior will be offered with a new Veloce variant that boosts power from 177kW to more than 207kW in a bid to challenge tnew breed battery-powered hot hatchbacks ncluding the Alpine A290, Abarth 500e and Cupra Born.
Combined with the same 54kWh battery as the regular Alfa Romeo Junior, there’s no word on how the standard car’s 400km range has been affected, nor how much quicker the Veloce is.
But the small SUV remains front-wheel drive and the 207kW/345Nm e-motor channels all its might through a Torsen limited-slip differential.
To cope with the extra performance, Alfa engineers say they have developed a new chassis tune that includes bespoke springs, dampers and different anti-roll bars. As standard, the new Veloce gets a performance brake pack.
Other changes include a faster 14.5:1 steering ratio that, in combination with the chassis changes, is said to add to the feeling of enhanced agility.
“The targets and objectives are as they always are for every Alfa Romeo: best-in-class handling and driving dynamics,” says the Italian car brand.
Stellantis is yet to officially confirm when the Alfa Romeo Junior will land in Australia but it’s rumoured to be arriving in the first half of 2025, following the Q4 launch of the closely-related Jeep Avenger EV.
The small Alfa Romeo Junior hit the headlines back in April following its official launch when Italian government officials objected to the Polish-made SUV carrying the ‘Milano’ nameplate.
A hasty switch to the Junior badge just days later put a halt to the controversy, but left some lingering amusement.
