‘In Benzin Veritas’ — it’s Latin for “in petrol we trust,” an ode to the art of turning fuel into fun, the domain of the internal combustion engine and the wheels it powers. I’ve got this very phrase painted on my garage wall, above the spot where the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce was parked. Plugged in. Because yes, despite the fact that the manufacturer has been synonymous with passion and motorsport — a brand whose fuel gauge has traditionally been captioned ‘benzin’ — this new hot hatch is in fact an EV. Shock. Horror?
The Alfa Romeo GT Junior is a famous nameplate dating back to 1966, when the elegant little Bertone-styled coupé first arrived wearing it. Alongside legendary badges like the GTV, the 147 GTA and the sublime 8C, and a legacy that spans Formula One world championships, the Mille Miglia and a century of Le Mans appearances, Alfa Romeo has long occupied a category entirely its own. A brand whose cars were once considered a rite of passage for any self-respecting motoring enthusiast. So you’ll forgive the faithful for feeling a little betrayed by the electrification of not just any Alfa, but the performance model in a segment — the hot hatch — that’s barely hanging on.
At R999,900, you get quite the performer. From its single-motor, front-wheel-drive configuration, the little Veloce delivers 207 kW and 345 Nm — good for 0–100 kph in just 5.9 seconds. Rapid. Linear. Good. It handles, too, featuring a mechanical limited-slip differential and a lowered chassis. The result is an engaging electric toy that can get you into a considerable amount of trouble. Good.
The Alfa Romeo looks great. Its demonstrably Italian design features 20-inch alloy wheels, red brake calipers tucked behind them, and a sporty Alcantara interior that simply screams ‘drive me’. On pricing: yes, at R999,900 the Veloce represents the tip of the lightning rod, but you can get much of the performance and most of the aesthetics in the regular Elettrica at R799,900. This one, however, features the blistering performance you’d appreciate in your red Alfa sports hatch. And it’s the one I have the keys to, so excuse me while I drive the thing.
On a 140 km loop of some of the finest mountain passes the Cape has to offer, the Veloce was a thrill. It has driving modes, of course — D in the DNA system refers to Dynamic, and here the acceleration is at its most brutal, the steering its most flavourful, with a suspension that remains flat and poised. It’s quick and rewarding, but I do miss the smells and vibration of an ICE car — the feeling of revs climbing, an exhaust that sings. In an EV that evokes a sports car this closely, that absence feels all the more acute. Like an electric wheelchair, albeit one made for Zeus himself.
And one more thing. The Alfa Romeo logo — a bisected shield bearing the red cross of Milan on the left and a serpent devouring a baby on the right, adopted from the Visconti family crest in 1910 — is one of the most storied badges in motoring. Well, here they’ve cheekily repurposed it as the battery recharge graphic. Instead of the serpent’s unfortunate snack, it’s the head of a charging plug. Talk about adding insult to injury.
So here’s my verdict on this anomaly. I really like the Veloce. It might be my favourite EV based on how it looks and how it goes — in both cases, as a hot hatch. But it highlights precisely what we stand to lose. For context: I’ve just returned from the Le Mans 24 Hours where over 100 racecars — Hypercars, LMP2s and GT3 machines — chased each other through the night, creating a spectacle I may never fully recover from. And I mean that in the best possible way. The oil, the fuel, the tyres, the sparks — not unlike a weekend at Simola, or Classic Friday at a circuit near you. It’s not that these cars are more analogue. It’s that they have an aura. And that’s not something the electrics have managed yet. Not even this great machine.