Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, Head of Design at Alfa Romeo, awarded the "El Abrazote de Manolo" prize

The name of Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos joins the list of winners selected by the six Spanish jurors of the Car of the Year (COTY) award, alongside José Muñoz, Fermín Soneira, Enrique Lorenzana, Emilio Herrera, Luca de Meo, Walter de Silva, Rafa Nadal, Carlos Sainz, José Vicente de Los Mozos or Rafael Prieto, as he receives one of the most prestigious awards in the automotive sector in recognition of his professional work.

The “El Abrazote de Manolo” award owes its name to the prestigious and beloved Spanish motoring journalist Manolo Domenech, who passed away in 2013. The trophy, created by the renowned sculptor Arantzazu García Calderón, represents the “abrazote” (big hug) that Manolo Domenech gave to all the people close to him and loved by him.

A success story

Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, born in Madrid in 1968, is a car designer who began his professional career as a designer of luxury coaches. He later joined the design team of Seat in Martorell and, in 2001, was hired by Renault, establishing his base in Paris. From 2009 to 2011 he was the head of design of Renault Samsung Motors in South Korea, and in 2011 he returned to Seat when he was called by Walter de Silva to replace Luc Donckerwolke as head of design, a post he held until 2020 (with models as well known as the Cupra Formentor, or the restyling of the Seat León, Ibiza, etc.). He subsequently rejoined the Renault group to lead design at the Romanian brand Dacia. Shortly after, in summer 2021, he was recruited by Jean-Philippe Imparato (Stellantis) to serve as head of design at Alfa Romeo, the position he currently holds.

According to Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, “The Formentor is one of the production cars I am most proud of. Its planned sales level at the time was lower than what it has achieved”, and, regarding the 33 Stradale, he considers it his greatest triumph as a car designer. He also highlights the work done by other brands such as Land Rover and Range Rover in design, and that of the Italians from the 1950s to the 1970s, such as the Lambos by Gandini and Iso Rivolta.

After the Junior and some secret projects he does not reveal precisely (probably new Stelvio and Giulia models), the Alfa 33 Stradale, with a Ferrari engine, is one of his most exclusive star works, since only 33 units will be produced, all already sold – most of them to anonymous collectors, among them a Spaniard – for two million euros, a price out of reach for most people.

The design of the 33 Stradale, without being a retro design, stands out for its balance between functionality and aesthetics, with very clean pure forms and harmonious surfaces without resorting to garish elements. “Everything has its meaning; for each element we have worked to improve performance, aerodynamics, but always through clean lines and without resorting to spoilers”.

It is still in the final tuning phase: “We are now working on the sound; each customer will be able to personalise it to their taste, taking into account Alfa culture. Talking with them we discovered they did not want spoilers or large aerodynamic add-ons, or the essential button layout. The Quadrifoglio badge is a sticker but embedded under four layers of varnish so there are no edges”.

The Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas is one of the lucky customers, although the waiting list already has more than 50 hopefuls. We will have to wait until the end of the year for delivery of the first unit, while the last, number 33, will be made in early 2026. The brand’s intention is to add another reinterpretation of an iconic Alfa Romeo model to continue the saga.

The Junior, latest design in production

Alejandro reveals some details of his latest creation, the Junior, a model that was born as the Milano and changed its name a week before it was presented. It is a Stellantis project that shares many of its elements with models from the company, such as the Jeep Avenger or the Fiat 600, but is loaded with sportiness thanks to a very original design and a specific tuning: “It’s true it can have a lot of noise at the front, but I had to make a car that is perhaps somewhat busy so that it stands out, to make it visible. At Alfa you have to seek character to express sportiness. The risk with this car could have been not taking risks. With the rear window with that trapezoidal shape that loses prominence downward, we have sought for the sheet metal and body colour to have prominence in that rear view. My goal with all my cars is to achieve visual quality”.

He assures that, for now, there will be no model below the Junior, as had been speculated in some media.

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