Description
Work on the Giulia began in the late 1950s, a period of rapid economic expansion in Italy during which Alfa’s Giulietta had become a coveted symbol of renewed economic prosperity for thousands of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.
With a seemingly insatiable demand for cars and a rapidly improving standard of living, the Giulia was designed to go “beyond” the Giulietta in every respect: bigger, more powerful and, of course, faster.
The all-aluminium, twin-camshaft, four-cylinder engine was increased from 1290 cm3 to 1570 cm3 and, fitted with a Solex carburettor with 32 mm twin choke, produced 92 bhp at 6000 rpm.
Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via an all-new five-speed manual gearbox, a highly unusual feature for a family sedan at the time.
Since disc brakes were still a novelty in the early 1960s, Alfa Romeo engineers kept drum brakes on the first Giulias until 1964, when the entire production run finally switched to the four-disc brakes the model deserved.
If the Giulia’s basic engineering can be considered a progressive improvement on the Giulietta it replaces, its exterior design is a veritable revolution, born of pioneering wind tunnel aerodynamic research carried out at Turin’s Politecnico di Torino.
It should be pointed out, however, that the Cx figure of 0. 34 often quoted for the Giulia Berlina is in fact an error, the real figure being around 0. 43 according to a 2007 interview with former Alfa Romeo engineer Domenico Chirico.
Although it makes things a little less impressive, this 0. 43 figure still placed the Giulia among the most aerodynamically efficient production cars available at the time, beaten only by certain Citroën and Porsche models.
Such a radical design causes some concern even within Alfa management, but there’s no need to worry, as the Giulia 1600 Ti is quickly adopted by the market.
The model shown here is a very early version, equipped with steering-wheel gearshift and 1st-generation dashboard. Originally from Italy, the car was restored by its previous owner in Austria in the 2000s, before being acquired by its current owner in 2010.
The interior is in excellent condition, the exterior paintwork is still in excellent condition and the mechanics are perfectly maintained. The chassis and underframes are also in perfect condition, with no trace of corrosion.
The engine is no longer the original Solex single carburetor, but has been replaced by a more recent generation 1600 engine, probably during its restoration. This more powerful engine is equipped with two Dellorto carburetors, giving the car a significant performance boost!
