There will be a new Alfa Junior, reviving a famous Alfa name from the 1960s, reckons Autocar.
Instead of developing the Bravo-based 149 -- an update to the well-received 147 -- the company's focusing instead on a small hatchback that'll rival both the Mini Cooper and the forthcoming Audi A1. Alfa itself positions it more as an affordable successor to 1971's Alfasud Ti, the company's first mass-market front-wheel-drive motor.
With three doors only, the Junior will be based on the same underpinnings as the Fiat Panda and is slated to emerge from Italy in 2008, alongside lighter, face-lifted versions of the 159, Brera and Spider. The 149 meanwhile should arrive in 2009.
It'll be designed by Fiat’s Centro Stile studio, responsible for next year’s new Maserati Coupé and the new Fiat 500. And according to the story, extensive chassis tuning at Alfa Romeo’s Bolloco test track near Milan should provide the Junior with its own distinct character.