Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Sprint GT, 1964
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Updated: 28-March-2024 15:42

Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Sprint GT, 1964

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Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Sprint GT rally car 'Bertone', year 1964. Colour white /red front and a black rally interior. The automobile was extensively restored, overhauled and tuned.

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Alfa Romeo has a long tradition in building magnificent coupe-, spider- and other exclusive car models. After world war II Alfa Romeo decided to change its course and started producing cars in mass production. The fully handcrafted pre war models were too expensive to make the company survive within the new economic perspective. The most important decision being made was to produce cars with a unitary bodywork structure. Cars could be constructed lighter and with less parts this way.
The first new post war model with a unitary bodywork structure was introduced in 1950; the Alfa Romeo 1900.
In 1954 the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint (750 series) was presented on the Turin motor show. It was a car with a breathtaking sleek and compact design, drawn by Bertone. The car was very light and featured excellent aerodynamics. Very important was the introduction of the new Alfa Romeo four cylinder engine with the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. This compact engine was made of aluminium and featured two overhead camshafts. Cylinder capacity was 1290 cc. and it delivered a stunning 50 bhp. per liter which was very remarkable those days. This reliable and powerful engine concept would become famous and was going to be used in many Alfa Romeo models for the decades to come.
In the year 1955 two other Giulietta models see the light of day; the beautiful Giulietta Spider (convertible), drawn by PininFarina, and the Giulietta Berlina (saloon).
1957 was the year in which a very special Giulietta model was presented; the very aerodynamic Giulietta Sprint Speciale (SS), designed by Bertone.
In the year 1958 the Giulietta series was slightly updated; the radiator grille was redesigned and the engine becomes additional power. The capacity increases from 65 bhp. up to 80 bhp.
In the year 1962 the Alfa Romeo Giulia model series was introduced and all Giulietta models are renamed "Giulia" to fit within the new model program. In 1965 the Giulietta models are taken out of production since new designed Giulia successors take over from here.

Technical data

Four cylinder in-line engine (DOHC)
cylinder capacity: 1570 cc.
carburettors: 2 x double Dell'orto
capacity: approx. 120 bhp. at 6000 rpm.
gearbox: 5-speed, manual
top-speed: 175 km/h.
weight: 875 kg.

Alfa Romeo history

The marque Alfa Romeo is one of the most important names in the history of the automobile."Alfa" (Sociètà Anonima Lombardo Fabbrica Automobili) was founded in the year 1910. The company was given the name Alfa Romeo after Mr. Nicolo Romeo bought the firm in the year 1915.

Alfa Romeo started building small automobiles for "everyday" passenger transportation. In the early 1920'ies Alfa Romeo also started engineering and building sports- and racing-cars.
The automobiles built by Alfa Romeo were all technically refined and far ahead of their competitors; New inventions and technical discoveries were engineered, tested and introduced in the production models right away. A good example is the introduction of the double overhead camshafts (DOHC), all Alfa Romeo engines from 1929 up to today are fitted with this superior overhead valve operating principle.

During the thirties and in the end of the forties of the ninetieth century Alfa Romeo was the dominant marque in racing competitions. Alfa Romeo racingcars were able to win all racing competitions which they competed in like Le Mans and the Mille Miglia. In the early thirties Enzo Ferrari was racing for "scruderia"Alfa Romeo and was promoted to be team manager in the late thirties. Alfa Romeo decided to put an end to the racing activities in 1938 and Enzo Ferrari decided to start his own racingcar business in 1940...

Before the second world war Alfa Romeo produced primarily rolling chassis as technical base for passenger automobiles. These rolling chassis were in most cases fitted with body designs created by the famous Italian bodywork artists like Touring and Zagato.
The rolling chassis type being manufactured by Alfa Romeo during these prewar years was the 6C. The 6C chassis/engine combination through the years: 1750/55 bhp. (from 1929), 1900/68 bhp. (from 1933), 2300/68-95 bhp. (from 1934) 2500/ 87-110 bhp. (from 1939).
Next to the Alfa Romeo 6C chassis/engine-combination Alfa Romeo introduced the 8C in the year 1931. The 8C chassis/ engine combination was primarily used for racing- and sportscars. The 8C engine featured eight cylinders-in-line, dry-sump engine lubrication and a blower (compressor) giving the engine a power output of 150 bhp.!
All Alfa Romeo models built before the second world war were fitted with the steering wheel on the right hand side of the car.

After the second world war Alfa Romeo started producing the 6C 2500 again which had been in production for over ten years already. Just in time the people in charge of Alfa Romeo realized that the industry had changed and that the market for large, expensive "tailor made" automobiles was increasing rapidly.
To survive they decided to reconsider their position and started preparing for standardized industrial automobile production as other manufacturers did before following the ideas of Henry Ford.

In the year 1949 the first result of the new Alfa Romeo era saw the light of day; the Alfa Romeo 1900!
The Alfa Romeo 1900 was the first Alfa Romeo built with a unitary bodywork construction (without separate chassis). The car was also the first fully industrial -mass- produced car to come out of the Alfa Romeo factory.
In the early fifties of the ninetieth century Alfa Romeo started to compete in racing-events again...racing their old prewar competition-cars and WINNING with Fangio behind the wheel! Soon thereafter Ferrari, Jaguar and Mercedes were back in winning position.

1954 was the year of introduction of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta series. The Alfa Romeo 1900 was still in production then but production was ceased in the year 1958. The Giulietta series included some very fine classics like the Bertone Sprint, Giulietta SS (Sprint Speciale) and the Pinin Farina Convertible.
The year 1962 saw the introduction of the Giulia series with a handsome, modern and sporty, four-door saloon, a Giulia Spider Veloce (successor of the Alfa Romeo Duetto), a Giulia GTV coupe model by Bertone and an impressive Zagato 1300 junior. The Giulietta SS was prolonged and renamed Giulia SS.

All Giulietta and Giulia models were characterized by their unitary bodywork construction, their powerfull aluminum alloy engines, double overhead camshafts and five speed gearboxes (with floor shift!), excellent roadholding capabilities and excellent body designs.
Alfa Romeo has the honour together with Mercedes Benz to have the greatest racing and sportscar history which continued over many decades. Regretfully it was that in the 1980'ies not very much was left that symbolized that great history. The cars coming out of the factory those days (Alfetta series) were more or less dull (many saloons), not very inspiring - except the Alfetta GTV, quality was poor and no one at Alfa Romeo was thinking of racing anymore for decades.

The Alfetta series was not the bestseller the Giulia has been for Alfa Romeo. Alfa Romeo did have a potential best seller; the Alfasud (a tremendous driver with boxer-engine!) Over one million were sold but overall quality was so bad, the car already rusted during production, that the Alfa Romeo name was crushed. In the mid-eighties Alfa Romeo was ready to shut the factory gates as it was reluctantly taken over by Fiat. It took Fiat/ Alfa Romeo almost fifteen years to rebuilt the old Alfa Romeo image by good marketing and by building better Alfa Romeo cars every generation. It started with the Alfa 33 (with boxer-engine), 75 and 164 (both with rear-wheel drive). Then the new generation 145, 146 and 155 followed (all front wheel drive) Specials were introduced at the same time which hit bulls eye; the GTV and the Spider!
The third generation put Alfa Romeo really back on the map of modern motoring enthusiasts; the Alfa Romeo 156, the 166 and the 147. All well designed by Alfa Romeo the then chief designer Walther de Silva.

© Marc Vorgers

 

Marc Vorgers
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Marc Vorgers