Alfa Romeo begins 2024 by celebrating two very important anniversaries. This year is the 70 of the Giulietta Sprint, unveiled in 1954, as well as the 50 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.
Photo:Stellantis
To mark the occasion, the mastery of the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile has produced two new logos, deliberately presented at the beginning of the year. Their aim is to support club and brand events throughout 2024, making them emblems of the tribute the Alfisti fandom 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 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.
The Alfa Romeo Centro Stile offers both emblems in a range of color solutions, to make them extremely functional for different applications.
Celebrations at the Alfa Romeo Museum
The Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese has already scheduled two events to celebrate these major anniversaries. The context is Backstage, a series of lectures begun in 2018 to explore Alfa Romeo history using unpublished materials from the Documentation Center and testimonials from the historians, designers, test drivers, and mechanics who played an active role in or had in-depth knowledge of that car or project.
On Sunday, May 5, the spotlight will be on the Alfetta GT, with the Giulietta’s turn coming on June 2. 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.
The full schedule of Backstage lectures will be posted on museoalfaromeo.com soon.
The third Tribe Days will definitely be the pinnacle of the celebrations. A unique event aimed at all four-wheel enthusiasts: Alfisti fans and others, 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 Alfa Romeo's transformation into a major automotive industry was undoubtedly the Giulietta, “Italy's girlfriend”. In 1952, Alfa Romeo production was focusing solely on the 1900, so the idea of a more modern car with a more limited displacement made headway.
Having discarded the initial plans for a 350-cc small car, and for another 750-cc 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 1100-cc four-cylinder twin-cam light alloy engine. Its displacement was then increased to 1300 (1290 cc). With a single-barrel carburetor, it delivered 65 hp, for a top speed of 165 km/h, but at the end of its career, with the latest evolution in 1958 and a twin-body carburetor, its power rose to 79 hp, running at up to 170 km/h. The gearbox and differential housing were also made of aluminum. The drum brakes, with their helical fins, were based on the 1900’s.
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, recently called on by Giuseppe Luraghi to reorganize 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 sedan. 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 lines: the Giulietta Sprint.
The car was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show on April 21, 1954, but two weeks earlier, a preview was held in the courtyard at Portello for insiders and authorities: 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 industry. 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 110 mm and the suspension was sportier. The bodywork was still designed by Giugiaro – who by then had set up his own business, Italdesign – according to very modern standards, already partly anticipated with a prototype from a few years earlier, based on the 1750 GTV: hatchbacks 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. Actually, 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 122 hp at 5500 rpm to 118 hp at 5300 rpm. One year later came the debuts of an entry-level version, with a 109-hp 1.6 engine (only produced until 1980) and simplified specifications, and of the GTV (GTS in the UK market) with a two-liter engine.
Production ended in 1986, after 136,275 units of the various versions had rolled out of the factory.
