Alfa Romeo is playing the scarcity game again, and once again only in Japan. From 6 August local dealers are taking orders for the Junior Ibrida Sport Speciale: 140 cars, not one more. The price is 5,250,000 yen.
That is 300,000 yen above the regular Junior Ibrida Premium, which now sells for 4,950,000 yen. Both figures already include the economic adjustment surcharge, a separate line Alfa Romeo added to its Japanese price lists on 1 January 2026, blaming the yen and the rising cost of production and logistics. For Core, Premium and Sport Speciale it comes to 270,000 yen, for the INTENSA limited run launched in January it is 150,000 yen.
And that is before the paint, because colour on a Junior costs extra. On the entry-level Ibrida Core, Arese Grey adds 80,000 yen and Brera Red 100,000 yen. On the Premium the body is two-tone with a black roof: Arese Grey and Naviglio Blue cost 130,000 yen each, Brera Red 150,000 yen. What the limited edition charges for its colours, Alfa Romeo has not revealed at all — the Sport Speciale simply is not in the configurator, which offers only Core, Premium and INTENSA. The published material carries a single figure, before registration costs, insurance and dealer options.
And now the bad news for anyone already reaching for a calculator: the word Sport in the name has nothing to do with the engine. Under the bonnet sits the same 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo with a 48-volt hybrid system — 145 PS and 230 Nm. Exactly what the ordinary Junior Ibrida Core and Premium deliver. Not one extra horsepower.
The spec sheet reads like this: 1,199 “cubes”, 100 kW at 5,500 rpm and 230 Nm from 1,750 rpm, plus a ZA03 electric motor rated at 16 kW and 51 Nm, fed by a lithium-ion battery running at 43.8 volts. Behind it a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox and front-wheel drive. Kerb weight is 1,330 kg, WLTC consumption 23.1 km per litre, CO2 emissions 101 g/km. The boot holds 415 litres and the turning radius is 5.3 metres.
Everything that sets this car apart went into the styling, and there it is hard to complain. The Sport Speciale gets a gloss black body kit with silver inserts on the sills and rear bumper, its own badging and 18-inch Foli wheels on 215/55 R18 tyres, finished in a matt coating that shrugs off dirt. The regular Premium rides on different 18-inch rims called Petali. The Foli design is a three-leaf motif, a direct nod to the 33 Stradale, the supercar built in 2023 in exactly 33 examples.
The grille, though, is the most ordinary one going. The Sport Speciale carries the standard Legenda, the very item fitted to Core and Premium. The filigree Progresso worn by last year’s Speciale and by January’s INTENSA is denied to the most expensive version in the range. There is plenty to argue about there.
Inside, Alcantara covers the seats, the steering wheel, the dashboard and the centre console. White inserts and white stitching break up the black, and the trim carries a Sport Speciale logo. The special equipment list also includes paddle shifters. The aluminium sport pedals fitted here, however, are no exclusive — the ordinary Premium gets them too. Fifty cars will be painted red, with 45 each in grey and white.
White is a story of its own here: Sempione White returns to the Junior for the first time since February’s Edizione Bianco. The Japanese Junior lives on a conveyor belt of limited runs — 180 INTENSA cars in January, wearing the same Foli wheels but gilded, 120 Edizione Bianco in February, 80 Avorio Classico in May, and now 140 Sport Speciale.
The version itself is no Japanese invention. In Europe the Sport Speciale appeared back in the autumn of 2025, as part of the 2026 model range, and the choice there is noticeably wider: alongside the front-wheel-drive hybrid there is an all-wheel-drive Q4 and an electric version with 156 hp. Japan gets front-wheel drive only.
The special edition was built for the Japanese market and is sold exclusively through local official dealers. Outside Japan there is no reason to wait for it.
Earlier it was reported that Alfa Romeo has confirmed a new hatchback in the spirit of the 147 and the Giulietta.
