Published on July 11th, 2024 | by Subhash Nair

Alfa Romeo Junior 280 Veloce Is A Performance-Focused EV Variant

The Alfa Romeo Junior 280 Veloce brings not just more power, but more performance enhancements all around.

Many Alfa Romeo fans around the world are pretty excited for the company’s first ever electric vehicle. Of course, the car is no longer made in Italy, but the mystique and legacy of the brand add a little something to the occasion. When first shown, the car was called the Milano but that was quickly replaced by the name Junior to appease the Italian government.

We knew from the outset that the Junior would come with a hybrid and an electric powertrain, but there is now more information about a more powerful electric version called the Junior 280 Veloce. Initially, the electric models ranged from 156hp to 240hp. As the name suggests, the Junior 280 Veloce comes with 280hp… but it’s not just an upgrade in power output.

The Alfa Romeo Junior 280 Veloce debuts a new generation of the M4+ electric motor, which is made at the Trémery plant owned by Stellantis. This motor produces 280PS and 345Nm of torque with engineering work from Alfa Romeo, Stellantis Engineering Propulsion Systems team and Emotors.

Besides the new motor, the Alfa Romeo Junior 280 Veloce also has the latest generation TorSen ‘D’ mechanical limited slip differential, which is an evolution of the Q2 one found on later Alfa Romeo 147 models. Besides that, this uprated model also gets its own unique anti-roll bar at the front and a unique torsion bar at the rear. There are also 20″ rims this time around and larger front brake discs measuring 382x32mm. Another interesting performance upgrade is the faster steering ratio, which is now 14.6:1 from 15.8:1.

In terms of aesthetics, you get a unique rim design in the larger size we mentioned earlier, a Veloce badge on the front fender, red painted brake calipers, and the only option is a front shield with the “Progresso” type emblem which is shared with the other EV variants. There also seems to be a white and red livery decal on the rims. Inside, you’ll find Corsa suede seats in black and red.

There are Drawbacks

As exciting as this performance electric model sounds, there are some drawbacks. Acceleration is not that impressive as it takes nearly 6 seconds to complete the century sprint. Range is limited to just 410km on a full charge on the WLTP cycle due to a rather mediocre 54kWh battery capacity. It’s also unimpressive considering you’re getting less than 300hp and is anticipated to cost over £40,000 or about RM250,000. For a similar price you can get a Volvo C40 with 400hp, 670Nm of torque and 550km of range today.