THE ORIGINAL ALFA ROMEO GIULIA

THE ORIGINAL Alfa Romeo Giulia TI (Type 105) was unveiled in June 1962 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza grand prix circuit and was the first of the Giulia family of cars produced from 1962 to 1978.

The “TI” classification referred to the Italian touring car class known as Turismo Internazionale and was previously seen on the high performance 1900 and Giulietta sedans in the 1950s.

Alfa was one of the first manufacturers to insert a powerful engine in a mass-produced compact four-door sedan and the Giulia came with a 1.6-litre alloy, twin cam four-cylinder engine, producing around 70 kilowatts. Most had a 5-speed manual transmission, drum brakes, and all wore Pirelli Cinturato tyres.

Marketed as a six-seat family sedan due to its column shift and split bench front seat the Giulia had cloth and vinyl upholstery, a strip speedometer and a black steering wheel with two ivory-coloured spokes. The gear lever found its way to the floor in 1964.

The Giulia range expanded in 1963 to include coupes and convertibles with engines ranging from 1.3 to 2.0-litres through the model’s lifespan that ceased in 1976, a year before the sedan’s demise.

A Giulia TI Super sedan was a special road-legal limited sports model, fitted with a more powerful engine and many lightweight components for racing use.

It received racing homologation in May 1964, campaigned successfully in the European championship and won the inaugural Sandown six hour touring car race later the same year.

A star of the silver screen and used by Italian police, the Giulia was featured in Michael Caine’s movie The Italian Job.

A Giulia 1300 debuted in 1964 and lasted until 1971 in left drive only.

Updates through the years included more powerful engines, suspension updates, bigger wheels and tyres, plusher interiors and top-hinged pedals.

In the early 70s the lineup was culled to just the 1.3 and 1.6 Giulia Supers.

Then in 1974 the Giulia Super range was rereleased as the Nuova Super range, (but looked the same), available with a 1300 or 1600cc engine. It had a black plastic grille and flat boot lid. Production ended in 1977. The last Giulia launched was the Giulia Nuova Super Diesel, Alfa’s first diesel car. It lasted a year and a production run of 6,537 units. The Giulia name then went into hibernation for 40 years.