This year, Alfa Romeo is
celebrating the 50th anniversary of the "Giulia", a car
which is particularly significant in the brand's over
hundred-year history, as a model which successfully
exhibited both the technical and creative talent of Alfa
Romeo during a time of exceptional growth for the
company.
The style, the technical
content, the performance, the reliability and the
innovation are just some of the elements which led to
the "Giulia's" success: from 1962 to 1977 the Giulia's
range of bodywork variants and engine options combined
sold one million units, and the vehicle made its mark on
an international level. A significant commercial
success, which certainly played its part in making the
model one of Alfa Romeo's most well known automotive
icons.
On 27th June 1962, the
"Giulia TI" - for that was the official name - was
presented to the international press at the Monza track,
the circuit on which Alfa Romeo achieved so many of its
sporting successes and tested all of its racing vehicles
up until the start of the Seventies. Three years later,
the Brianza track saw the official return of Alfa Romeo
to competition with the "Giulia Sprint GTA", another
extraordinary vehicle from the Giulia range.
An official logo has been
created for the Giulia tribute, which originates from a
very famous advertisement, the slogan of which,
"designed by the wind", underscores the aerodynamic
quality of the Giulia saloon, which had a cx of 0.34 -
still an impressive value today - also resulting from
its "revolutionary" and highly personal design, which
has always differentiated the sporty saloon amid the
competition.
Alfa Romeo clubs,
enthusiasts and automotive fans all over the world will
be paying tribute to the Giulia, culminating on tomorrow
on the test track in Balocco. The specific location was
also chosen to celebrate the plant's 50th birthday: it
was in fact in 1962 that work was completed on the
circuit located 60 km from Milan amidst the paddy fields
of the Vercelli area. Over an area of 190 hectares, this
track made Alfa Romeo one of the first European
manufacturers to have available a structure of this type
for the testing and technical development of its
vehicles, both racing and road cars. The Autodelta, Alfa
Romeo's official racing department, was one of the first
to use this circuit, which offers a range of famous
bends, reproducing as closely as possible the
environment which racing cars are required to perform.
All of the standard
models, from the Giulia onwards, have been developed and
tested at Balocco: and through this, Alfa Romeo has been
able to consolidate its leadership in terms of the
dynamic performance of its vehicles, one of the brand's
universally renowned features. Today, the "Balocco
Proving Ground" boasts more than 80 km of circuits and
tracks of all kinds, on which it is possible to complete
almost every type of test, not just for cars, but for
tractors, trucks and special vehicles.
The new Giulietta
Quadrifoglio Verde will be one of the vehicles leaving
from Balocco for England to take part in the 'Goodwood
Festival of Speed', one of the world's biggest
automotive events. During the trip, the Alfa Romeo team
will have the chance to get together with Alfa Romeo
Club fans from the 7 participating nations - Italy,
Switzerland, Germany, France, Holland, Belgium and the
UK.
Along with the "Giulia"
and "Balocco", the Registro Italiano Alfa Romeo (R.I.A.R.),
one of the brand's two official clubs together with the
Scuderia del Portello, will also turn 50 this year. 1962
saw the creation of this association, one of the most
prestigious and long-lasting, which still today counts
around two thousand members, one of the finest and
rarest vehicle fleets, and an annual schedule packed
with events in Italy and abroad. The "Registro"
will celebrate its half century on 23rd June in Cremona,
with an event involving both members and local
institutions at a location which in 1924 saw the winning
debut of the "P2", the first Alfa Romeo to win a world
title.