Alfa Romeo poaches new design boss from Renault

Alfa Romeo has announced that Spanish designer Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos will head up its design studio following his departure from the Renault group earlier this year.

Joining the famous Italian brand on July 1, Mesonero-Romanos will report to Jean-Pierre Ploue, Stellantis' chief designer.

Until recently, Mesonero-Romanos headed up Dacia and was credited with the well-received Dacia Bigster concept car.

An earlier spell at Renault saw the Spaniard design the Renault Laguna Coupe before he defected to the Volkswagen Group to work for SEAT and then Cupra.

At Alfa, the well-respected designer will face the huge task of reinventing the Alfa Romeo GTV as a pure-electric four-door coupe before overhauling the Giulia (due 2023) and Stelvio (2024) for a pure-electric future.

He will also finalise the design of the all-new Alfa Romeo Brennero small SUV that could make its debut in 2023.

A Spider comeback and pure-electric replacement for the Alfa Romeo MiTo supermini will also lurk on his lengthy to-do list.

“Alejandro’s arrival represents a great opportunity for Alfa Romeo. Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos is a car enthusiast and did a wonderful job at Cupra. The design team and I look forward to working with him,” said Ploue.

Jean-Philippe Imparato, Alfa Romeo’s new CEO, said he is “happy to address the upcoming challenges at Alfa Romeo with a forward-thinker like Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos”.

He also said their “close partnership is expected to bring success to the brand”.