1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Speciale

Alfa Romeo introduced the Giulietta in 1954, setting the formula of high-performance small cars that would characterize the company from then on. The Giulietta received a downsized twin-cam four-cylinder that displaced 1,290cc and gained an alloy cylinder block. The Bertone-styled Sprint Coupe was later joined by a Berlina (saloon) and Spider versions, followed in 1957 by the ultimate iteration of the model, the Sprint Special, and the first of the new 101-Series cars. It was spawned by a prototype Giulietta that had been displayed in 1957 at the Turin Salon. It was followed by an official production version that was demonstrated to the media at the Monza Grand Prix circuit on June 24th of 1959.

The first 101 examples built were specially prepared to satisfy FIA homologation requirements, with a few clothed with alloy bodies, while the majority had steel shells with an aluminum bonnet, doors, and boot lid.

Alfa Romeo once again entrusted the styling to Bertone who created a curvaceous body for the short-wheelbase platform. The 100 horsepower engine was backed by a five-speed gearbox. Together with the aerodynamic coachwork that had a drag coefficient of 0.28, the engine was powerful enough to give the car a top speed of 125 mph. The ensuing production versions of the Giulietta had steel doors, and the 40DC03 carburetor was replaced by 40DC0E2 units. They had a higher nose profile, more sound deadening equipment, bumpers, and glass rather than Plexiglas windows. Drum brakes provided the stopping power.

In competition, the Sprint Speciale (SS) was highly competitive in the 1,300cc class in racing venues around the world.

By the time the SS was superseded in 1963 by the 1,600cc Giulia version, a total of 1,366 examples had been built. First displayed in 1963 at the Geneva Slon, the Giulia SS styling was similar in appearance to its predecessor, distinguishable by the identifying tail script, a revised dashboard, and different sidelights. Production of the Giulia Sprint Speciales continued from 1963 through 1965 with 1,399 examples built. Production effectively ended in 1965 with just a single car being completed the following year.

The Alfa Romeo Giulia SS was powered by a 1,570cc dual overhead camshaft four-cylinder engine fitted with two Weber carburetors helping to produce 129 horsepower at 6,500 RPM. It was back by a five-speed manual transmission with disc brakes (in most examples) in the front and drums at the rear. The front suspension was independent with the rear using a live axle.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe
Chassis number: AR 381354
Engine number: AR00121*01353

Alfa Romeo introduced the Giulietta in 1954 and fitted it with a downsized 1290cc twin-cam engine, gaining an alloy cylinder block in the process. The original Bertone-styled Sprint Coupé was soon joined by Berlina (saloon) and Spider (open) versions. In 1957, the Sprint Speciale was introduced; the first of the new 101-Series cars. They were built on a slightly shorter wheelbase and again wore coachwork by Bertone. The engine offered a spirited 100 BHP and was mated to a five-speed gearbox. Top speed was in the neighborhood of 125 mph. The SS was small, lightweight, compact, aerodynamically efficient and very powerful its size. In total, just 1,366 examples were produced by the time the model was superseded in 1963 by the 1600cc Giulia version. The new model was outwardly distinguishable from the SS by identifying tail script, different sidelights and a revised dashboard. Between 1963 and 1965, 1,399 examples of the Bertone-bodied Giulia Sprint Speciales were built.

This particular example was delivered new to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The original owner was a woman who had a passion for motorsport. It is believed that this car spent the earlier years of its life racing the SCCA circuit on the East Coast around New York City. It was originally paint red; currently it is painted white with ab lack tail, reminiscent of the TZ's of the same era.

After a clutch failure in 1972, the car was taken off the road for good. By this point in history, the car had moved from the East Coast, to Scottsdale, AZ. A replacement clutch was ordered but never installed. The car sat, untouched in a garage, until its original owner passed and it was sold by her estate to the present owner in 2010.

The car currently retains much of its original equipment and fittings. The engine has not run in over four decades, though it is said to turn freely. Thee dark grey vinyl remains in nice shape, while the original red paint shows clearly on the dash.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe
Chassis number: 381375

This Giulia Sprint Speciale is one of the last 25 to be built; these final cars were painted in one-off colors, in this case Moss green with a fawn interior. The car's engine is a dual overhead cam, aluminum 4-cylinder with side-draft Webers, rated at approximately 129 hp; it is mated to a five-speed manual. Franco Scaglione of Bertone designed the SS, following the futuristic Berlina Aeroynamica Technical, or BAT, cars he designed in 1953-55. Bertone also built the cars which have a coefficient of drag of 0.28, the same as a C6 Corvette.

Coupe

Alfa Romeo collaborated with Bertone to produce a series of Berlinetta Aerodinamica Technica studies that produced three concept cars - the B.A.T. 5, 7, and 9. The Bertone-designed Sprint Speciale originally appeared in 1957. It was a very streamlined car and achieved a record, for a production car, 0.28 coefficient of drag not bested for more than 20 years. It was capable of reaching 125 miles per hour and powered by a 1.6-liter DOHC engine.

This example received a comprehensive restoration around 2011.

A delightfully charismatic car that proved a highly successful seller, the Alfa Romeo Giulia replaced the outgoing Giulietta beginning in 1962. Alfa Romeo produced the Giulia in myriad configurations, some drastically different from other models in the series but all with a unifying thread of polished driving fun.

The name 'Giulietta' means 'little Giulia' in Italian, so the Alfa Giulia title was a play on words identifying the new car as a grown-up version of the Giulietta. The wittiness of Alfa's naming strategy was representative of the Giulia's personality as a whole. The car bristled with clever touches, and was a superb example of world-leading engineering packed into a small and stylish automobile.

The first Giulia sedan, or Berlina, models were introduced in June of 1962 and belonged to the 105 series of Alfa cars. The Berlinas were boxy and fairly conservative in appearance, but their design was nevertheless attractive, modern, and, surprisingly, quite aerodynamic with a coefficient of drag of just 0.33.

Initially, Alfa Romeo offered only the Giulia TI (or Turismo Internationale) to buyers looking to purchase a new Berlina. This model used a 1,570cc version of Alfa's respected twin-cam four, which proved far more tractable than the 1,290cc unit used in the prior Giulietta. The Giulia TI had a 5-speed transmission, albeit with column-mounted shifter, and most were equipped with power disc brakes all around (though the earliest models still used Alfin drums). The TI was an entertaining car to drive with fine handling and a sophisticated demeanor, but details like its drab steering wheel, functional but mundane instruments, and column-mounted shifter did little to inspire owners to wring out the potential of the chassis. Alfa Romeo provided buyers with a Giulia Berlina of more obviously sporting intent by introducing the Giulia Super.

The Super, introduced in 1965, featured twin Weber carburetors to replace the TI's single Solex, and it had a lovely dash with big dials for the speedometer and tachometer. The column shift was replaced by a floor shift, and power was up slightly compared with the TI. Not to be confused with the Super, a truly racy Giulia Berlina derivative called the TI Super was offered for homologation purposes in 1963. With just 501 produced, it was substantially lighter and more powerful than the initial Berlinas.

The last Giulia Berlinas brought to the U.S. came over in 1967, but the charming sedans continued in production throughout other parts of the world. Though Americans were only offered the 1.6-liter engined TI and Super, other countries could also order Giulia Berlinas with 1.3-liter versions of the all-aluminum four. A minor restyling in 1974 saw a name change to Giulia Nuova (or new in English), and there was even a diesel version introduced to some markets for 1976. In the U.S., where the Giulia name disappeared from the market after just a few years, enthusiasts could still purchase what was essentially a Giulia Berlina with larger engine by buying a later 1750 Berlina or 2000 Berlina.

The Giulia Berlina proved that Alfa Romeo could follow up its successful Giulietta Berlina with a worthy replacement that continued to define the term sports sedan as it battled with BMW. The more famous automobiles of the Giulia series, though, were not sedans at all.

Like the Giulietta before it, the Giulia was offered in Sprint (coupe) and Spider (convertible) configurations in addition to the bread-and-butter Berlina models. While the 105-series Giulia sedans offered an all-new car for 1962, the transition from Giulietta Sprint and Spider to Giulia Sprint and Spider was gentler.

The later Giuliettas belonged to the 101-series of Alfa Romeos, and the earliest Giulia Sprints and Spiders also belonged to this series before the coupe and convertible versions of the 105 body were finalized. The transitional 101-series Giulias were essentially Giuliettas with 1,570cc engines installed. The 101 Giulia Sprint looked identical to the 101 Giulietta Sprint, while the 101 Giulia Spider could be distinguished by the raised area of its hood (disguised as a fake hood scoop) needed to clear the slightly taller engine.

In 1963, the 105-series Giulia coupe arrived, named Sprint GT and styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro during his time at Bertone. The primary features of the chassis, including its disc brakes, front A-arm suspension, and live rear axle, were all shared with the 105 Berlina models as well as the Spider models that were still a few years away. Much like the Berlina, Alfa Romeo sold the Sprint GT in many different trim levels, with both 1.3-liter and 1.6-liter engines, though all U.S. cars used the 1.6-liter engines. Also like the Berlina, production of what was essentially still the Giulia Sprint continued even after the Giulia title was dropped.

In the United States, the Sprint GT became the Sprint GTV in 1967. Alfa Romeo did not import cars to the U.S. for 1968, but in 1969 the importation of a lightly restyled Giulia coupe continued as the 1750 GTV and later 2000 GTV.

In addition to the regular production versions of the Giulia Sprint, several specialty models were produced. About 1,000 examples of a Sprint-based cabriolet with four seats, called the Giulia GTC, were produced by Touring beginning in 1965 before the two-seat 105 Spider was introduced. For the track, Zagato created highly successful racing cars with the 105-series platform by building the tube-framed TZ (Tubolare Zagato) and later TZ2 with its fiberglass body.

The TZ and TZ2 were excellent racers with stunning and low-slung bodies, but perhaps even more remarkable than these purpose-built racing machines was the GTA, which was almost identical in appearance to the Sprint GT yet proved itself as one of the most successful sports cars raced during its time. The GTA used lightweight aluminum body panels, twin sparkplugs per cylinder, a higher compression ratio, and bigger Weber carburetors to create a supremely capable vehicle. The Giulia GTA won the European Touring Car Championship in 1966, 1967, and 1968. Variations of the GTA included a smaller-engined 1300 GTA and the later GTAm, which had a downright frightening appearance thanks to its menacing fender flares and fat tires.

The Spider version of the 105-chassis finally arrived in 1966, with somewhat controversial styling by Pininfarina. Never officially labeled a Giulia, the Spider was the longest-running model of the 105-series despite its late start. Incredibly, Spider production didn't end until 1993.

It can be difficult to keep track of all of the different Giulia models and 105-series derivations. Open and closed cars, two-doors and four-doors, bodies made of steel, aluminum, and even fiberglass, designs from Bertone, Pininfarina, Touring, Zagato, and Alfa Romeo itself—clearly, the Giulia's history was rich and complicated, full of superb family sedans and successful racing cars. All of these disparate models had something in common, though: they were pure, honest, unfettered Alfa Romeos. And they were some of the finest and most successful postwar cars, both on track and in the showroom, that the company ever produced.

Sources:

'Alfa Romeo models.' CarsfromItaly.net n. pag. Web. 21 Dec 2010. http://carsfromitaly.net/fiat/index.html.

Benson, Joe. Illustrated Alfa Romeo Buyer's Guide . 2nd. Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing Company, 1992. Print.

Braden, Pat. Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible. Cambridge, MA: Bentley Publishers, 1994. Print.

by Evan Acuña

The first generation of the Giulia, also known as the 105 series, was introduced at the Monaz Autodrome in the early 1960s. The vehicles shared the same bodies as the vehicles they were replacing, the Giulietta. Power came from 1570 cc 4-cylinder engines using hemispheric combustion chambers and producing over 90 horsepower. The five-speed manual gearbox was operated by a column-mounted shift. The suspension was modified in the rear to improve handling but remained the same in the front.

Just like the Giulietta series, the Giulia came in multiple body-styles including the four-door Berlina, spider, TZ, sprint, and Sprint Speciale.

With racing in mind, Alfa Romeo designed and built the TZ series. The TZ, meaning Tubolare Zagato, was outfitted with a light alloy body, tubular frame, disc brakes, and independent suspension. The performance of the vehicle was amplified by its light body and responsive and effective handling. The large disc brakes provided excellent stopping power.

In 1963 the Giulia TI Super was introduced as a low production specialty model. With only 500 examples produced, its exclusivity is secure. Outfitted with a 112 horsepower engine, large disc brakes, and floor-mounted shift, this vehicle was a performance machine.

In 1963 all models received disc brakes standard on all four wheels. Power was increased in 1965 with the introduction of the 98 horsepower Giulia Super. Externally and internally, the design was slightly modified throughout the years.

The Giulia is credited with expanding international sales of the Alfa Romeo product. Like its predecessor the Giulietta, the vehicle was available in multiple body styles and configurations. Part of its success was the economical aspects, versatility, and styling.

by Dan Vaughan