The History of Alfa Romeo
 (by Elvira Ruocco)


 Article 2

The Giulia of the miracles
From production saloon to racing car

Born to replace the Giulietta, the car that had let Alfa Romeo become one of big European car manufacturers, the Giulia was quickly successful among drivers who want a reasonable-powered car but with a true sports car performance.
On June 27th 1962, the Monza circuit stood godfather to the first Giulia family, the new T.I. 1600 saloon car with the unprecedented line “designed by the wind”, created by the Style Office of the Biscione’s house.

The Style Office had had born in 1958 in a shed of the old plant of Gattamelata Street and had dealt with the “adjustments” of previous models (1900 and Giulietta) for some period of time. Then, Eng. Orazio Satta informed his staff that they would have had to work on a new project, on the car that would have had to replace the Giulietta.
Satta provided for the measure of the wheelbase and the overall dimensions and the designers started to draft some sketches. In three months the plasticine model was born and from the chalk one the 1:1-scale shape plan was reached. The drawing was made by Silvio Sala, a specialist in three-view drawings.
Initially the rear had a receding tail, believing that it would have improved aerodynamic penetration, but tests made in the wind tunnel with wool thread and soot sprays trails showed that a cut off tail was much better; and so it was.
The result was a car of epoch-making level that represented a stylistic turning point (not only) for Alfa Romeo. In fact, what laid ahead was a period teeming with flattering financial results for the company which had settled in Arese, but especially with new car models which inherited philosophy and heart from the Giulia.
The four-cylinder engine took the classical scheme adopted by Alfa Romeo with double over head camshaft, direct valve drive and hemispheric combustion chamber. The displacement brought to 1600 placed the new car in a European sized market target.
The performance was worthy of respect: over 184 km/h maximum speed, excellent roadholding and safe braking. The power, 92 CV, was higher than that of any large production saloon car.

In 1963,new versions were born: the T.I. Super “quadrifoglio” (“four-leaved clover”, the racing-type Giulia) and the Sprint GT with a new body designed by Bertone.
This last version is also the first car entirely manufactured in the new Arese plant, although some mechanical parts (engines and gears, etc.) still came from the old Portello.
During the lifetime of this very successful car, no less than eight series were prepared, differing from each other above all in the evolution of engines, whose brilliant performances awarded a so tremendous success that in more than fifteen production years’ time Alfa has sold, in their various versions, more than one million Giulias.
Due to its marked sporting qualities, it became the car with which Police and Carabinieri patrols were equipped. Some flying squad Giulias were also prepared by Autodelta, the Alfa’s motorsport division, and took part in several races and gained remarkable results.
In 1968 four Giulia Super and two Alfa Matta left Vatican City bound for Peking, to take part in the Brotherhood and Peace Raid lead by Maner Lualdi. Every car behaved very well in despite of the unfavourable weather conditions met during the journey. In particular, the four Giulias were nicknamed “Giulia of the miracles” by the enthusiastic expedition members.
Born with solutions which were ten years ahead of the technical evolution of cars, with its line with aggressive dynamism, yet compact and simple, the Giulia, sought by collectors in each of its versions, remains a rare example of automotive architecture.

THE GIULIA AT THE TOUR DE FRANCE, 1963

Elvira Ruocco

Copyright Information and Credits
All the multimedia materials and the texts present in this page cannot be reproduced in any way without the explicit permit of authors and/or owners of the contents. In particular, this applies with reference to texts and pictures of Ms. Elvira Ruocco and of the Alfa Romeo Historic Archive who explicitly authorized the AlfaSport Club for publication.

Translation by Fabio Grandi


Previous Article Menu Next Article

info@alfasport.net | Privacy | copyright club alfa sport 2019 |