Legends & Legacies: Alfa Romeo Giulietta

(image source: carter-cash.com)

Turn your attention to the 50s when Alfa Romeo deep their toes in the mass market after WWII. By Jerrica Leong

It has been two months since King of Clubs happened and we still have the image of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta taking on the Autocross challenge stuck in our minds. The Giulietta was a sensation during the event, just like back in the days when Alfa Romeo newly launched the car.

All was not well when Alfa decided to start selling the Giulietta. By 1952, Alfa already had the small saloon ready to go into production but they lack the financial resources to build the Giulietta Berlina. Their solution? Bring in money through interested buyers. Alfa started selling interest-bearing bonds to 200 bond holders and promised them that they will each receive a Berlina once production began.

The scheme was a success and the Giulietta went into production but then the company faced the problem with the body build. The cars cannot be produced and by the launch date no Giulietta appeared. To counter this problem and please their bondholders Alfa had had to think fast.

(image source: classiccarcatalogue.com) Alfa wrapped a simple sports car body around the Berlina engine and, hey presto, you have the Giulietta Berlina! The company was delighted to find that their last resort plan had succeeded in not just winning over their bondholders but also the world over with the sensational design and drive.

The Giulietta came in the form of a coupe known to all as the Giulietta Sprint Coupe designed by Franco Scaglione. Alfa soon after launched the Berlina saloon version closely followed by a drop top two seater Spider version. This Spider version that was designed Pininfarina sent another sensational wave throughout the world.

It seems the trend of creating one model with several different variants started way back in the 50s. The Giulietta came in seven variants, the sedan, coupe and station wagons. Yes station wagons, they were known as the Promiscua and Weekendina, designed by Carrozeria Colli and Carrozeria Boneschi respectively. There is also a lightened version of the Giulietta known as the Sprint Zagato, designed by Franco Scaglione for Bertone and hand build by Zagato.

(image source: wikimedia.org) According to reports the Giulietta is a nimble and fun car to drive. The 1290cc DOHC Straight Four manages a top speed of 166kph and makes the sprint from 0-97kph in 13 seconds. That is an impressive acceleration record for a car of the 50s!

We wish to see the Alfa Romeo Giulietta take on the Autocross challenge in King of Clubs again. And maybe, just maybe, the owner can give us a chance to ride in it in next year’s King of Clubs? There’s always hope!

(image source: bozhdynsky.com)