ALFA ROMEO CELEBRATES THE ANNIVERSARIES OF GIULIETTA AND ALFETTA GT

• This year, Alfa Romeo celebrates the 70^th anniversary of the beloved Giulietta Sprint, nicknamed “la fidanzata d’Italia” (Italy’s girlfriend), and the epitome of the stylistic mastery of Bertone and its designer Franco Scaglione
• This year also marks the 50^th anniversary of the iconic Alfetta GT, a coupé based on the Alfetta, a commercial success and milestone in the brand’s history, designed by master of style Giorgetto Giugiaro
• The Alfa Romeo Centro Stile has paid tribute by creating two official logos, with minimalistic and elegant lines to retrace the hallmarks of two icons of their eras
• The Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese will celebrate the two anniversaries with dedicated events, where fans can take part in parades, Backstage lectures and much more. The culmination of the celebrations will take place during the third Tribe Days (5-6 October) at the Mugello circuit

Alfa Romeo begins 2024 by celebrating two very important anniversaries. This year is the 70^th of the Giulietta Sprint, unveiled in 1954, as well as the 50^th of the 1974 Alfetta GT; two much-loved and commercially successful models that – each in their own way – tell the story of two memorable eras, extraordinary times in Italian automotive history.

To mark the occasion, the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile has produced two new logos. Their aim is to support Club and brand events throughout 2024, making them emblems of the tribute the Alfisti will pay to two cars that have taken their rightful place in the collective unconscious, as icons of functional beauty and noble Italian sportiness.

The Alfa Romeo Centro Stile offers both emblems in a range of colours, so that the wide range of Club events and all the brand's communications will therefore bear the official ‘made at the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile’ emblems.

Distinguished by minimalistic and elegant lines, the two logos retrace the features of the two cars, adorned for the occasion with their signature, in the same font as on their bodywork. The dates of the celebrations complete the tribute.

Celebrations at the Alfa Romeo Museum

The Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese has already scheduled two events to celebrate these major anniversaries. The celebrations will centre on a series of lectures in the Backstage series, a programme of lectures begun in 2018 to explore the history of Alfa Romeo. The series focusses on unpublished materials from the Documentation Center and testimonials from historians, designers, test drivers and mechanics who played an active role in or had in-depth knowledge of a particular car or project.

The lecture on the Alfetta GT will be held on Sunday, 5^th May, while the event to celebrate Giullietta will be held on June 2^nd. The lectures will take place in the Museum’s Giulia Hall, preceded by a parade to which owners of that specific Alfa Romeo model are invited.

More information will be available on the Alfa Romeo museum website shortly. The third Tribe Days will be the pinnacle of the celebrations. A unique event aimed at all four-wheel enthusiasts: Alfisti, clubs, collectors, enthusiasts, the merely curious, all united by their passion for the brand.

History of the two cars:

Giulietta Sprint (1954): The car that marked the transformation of Alfa Romeo into a major automotive manufacturer was undoubtedly the Giulietta – affectionately known as “la fidanzata d’Italia” (Italy's girlfriend). In 1952, Alfa Romeo production was focused solely on the 1900, and the idea of a more modern car with a smaller displacement made headway.

Having discarded the initial plans for a 350cc small car, and for another 750cc front-wheel drive model (although the code 750 would also be used in later projects), by August 1952 it was clear that the car’s layout would be conventional, with a front engine and rear-wheel drive. Within a year, the first prototype took to the road, a compact coupé created by Ivo Colucci's bodywork department, equipped with a 1,100cc four-cylinder twin-cam light alloy engine. Its displacement was then increased to 1,300 (1,290cc). With a single-barrel carburetor, it delivered 65hp, for a top speed of 102mph, but at the end of its career, with the latest evolution in 1958 and a twin-body carburetor, its power rose to 79hp, running at speeds of up to 105mph. The gearbox and differential housing were also made of aluminium. The drum brakes, with their helical fins, were based on those of the 1900.

In early 1954, the mechanics were on the home stretch, but only sketches and a few rudimentary prototypes of the body survived. However, Finmeccanica announced the delivery of a certain number of units to selected shareholders. The impasse was resolved by Rudolf Hruska, who had recently called on by Giuseppe Luraghi to reorganise the plant with the aim of producing 50 Giulietta cars per day. An external coachbuilder would assemble a small series of coupé versions to be delivered to shareholders while they waited for the saloon. After initial mistrust, the Alfa Romeo-led IRI accepted the proposal, the sketches were presented by Boneschi, Boano and Bertone. The latter, assisted by designer Franco Scaglione, then came up with a compact and well-proportioned car, with minimalistic, refined and sporty line – the Giulietta Sprint.

The car was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show on 21 April, 1954, but two weeks earlier, a preview was held in the courtyard at Portello for insiders and authorities where two actors jumped out of a helicopter dressed as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

The Giulietta made its mark on sales as soon as it was introduced. A few days later, orders had to be suspended; the plant was already overrun. As well as the sporty and successful lines, its success was down to performance, putting the car at a level that had not been seen before in its category and undermining competitors in a much higher class.

This would become the turning point for Alfa Romeo, the dawn of a great automotive manufacturer. Production of the Giulietta in its various versions continued for 11 years: a total of 177,513 units were made, 24,084 of which were the Sprint.

Alfetta GT (1974) The launch of the Alfetta was followed two years later by a coupé version, assigned with the unenviable task of replacing the legendary, best-selling Bertone coupé, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1963 as a sports version of the Giulia. However, the wheelbase of the Alfetta GT 1.8 was shortened by 110mm and the suspension was sportier. The bodywork was again designed by Giugiaro – who by then had set up his own business, Italdesign. The Alfetta GT was designed according to very modern standards, already partly anticipated with a prototype from a few years earlier based on the 1750 GTV – a hatchback with a fastback tail that ended very high up with a hint of a spoiler. The lines were taut and angular; the front, with four recessed headlights, was low and assertive – the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile had already clearly left its mark in the design. The driver’s seat also reflected the sporty tone, with its low, relaxed position and single instrument – a large speedometer – in front of the driver. The tachometer and secondary instruments were in the middle of the dashboard.

The Alfetta GT, however, was intended as more of a grand tourer than an extreme sports car, with great attention paid to practicality: there was enough space inside for four people, the rear windows could be wound down and the large trunk was easily accessible via the tailgate.

As soon as 1975, the mechanics of the Alfetta GT would already be modified slightly, from 122hp at 5,500rpm to 118hp at 5,300rpm. One year later came the debuts of an entry-level version, with a 109hp 1.6 engine (only produced until 1980) and simplified specifications, and of the GTV (GTS in the UK market) with a two-litre engine.

Production ended in 1986, after 136,275 units of the various versions had rolled out of the factory.

ENDS