Miguel Sánchez
On Alfa Romeo Giulia Rivers of ink have been spilled but, at the end of the day, there is an idea with which much of what has been published can be summarized: this saloon did not have sporty variants but, in essence, was designed from scratch as a practical and family car without Therefore, leaving aside agile and dynamic qualities.
That is to say, while there are legion of models with three volumes From which tuners or brands have evolved performance versions, the Alfa Romeo Giulia was born with an eye toward sportiness applied to its entire range.
Obviously, from here it was much easier to produce a genealogy”sport” much more prolific than that presented by any other passenger car of its time. What's more, shortly after seeing the light first units of the saloon body in 1962 The same mechanics were applied to the coupe lines previously used by the Giulietta Sprint.
Previous step to the presentation a year later of the Giulia Sprint, which appeared equally at the beginning of the extensive saga of models bodied by Zagato and Bertone with their sights set on dominate the classes less than two liters with displacements that ranged from 1.290 cc to 1.962 cc. A saga of winners where one of the most successful models in the entire history of Alfa Romeo is inserted: the Giulia Tubolare Zagato TZ homologated in 1964.
GIVE UP RACING, YES AND NO
After the Second World War, the public company Alfa Romeo - owned by the Italian state since 1932 - had to catch up with the times by getting involved in large-scale production of touring cars. Something with which he committed himself in 1950 thanks to the launch of the 1900 saloon, capable of introducing Italy into modernity along with the Fiat 1400 and the Lancia Aurelia.
However, that was not an obstacle to continuing with the brand's sporting spirit because, even having to abandon F1 at the end of 1952 despite sweeping it with its Alfetta -the economy rules- and even officially retired from racing in 1953, the truth is that the versions International Tourism They were a perfect weapon for a multitude of private drivers to continue sporting the Alfa Romeo name on the tracks.
Likewise, the collaboration with Zagato led to models such as the SZ made on the basis of the Giulietta Fast Sprint. An exquisite racing design finished in aluminum by the Milanese coachbuilder capable of producing up to 116 HP with its 1.290 cc engine; Ultimately one of the best competition models when we refer to the 1.3 liter category.
That said, it was obvious to see how Alfa Romeo had not left the racing world unattended at all. A real success in the long run because, as was perfectly seen in the design of the Giulia, the sportiness in its mechanics and corporate image was key in establishing a differentiated commercial projection than what is offered by Fiat or any other general manufacturer.
THE IMPORTANCE OF AUTODELTA IN THE GENESIS OF THE ALFA ROMEO GIULIA TZ
While Alfa Romeo was testing the pre-production units of the Giulia, engineers Carlo Chiti and Lodovico Chizzola founded their Delta Auto workshop in 1961 - baptized Autodelta two years later - with their sights set on realizing sports preparations and competition for both brands and private teams.
A perfect opportunity for Alfa Romeo, which saw here the possibility of outsourcing competition tasks, thus overcoming the deficiencies experienced when developing sports versions only with coachbuilders such as Zagato or Bertone; capable of improving weight, aerodynamics and even suspensions but, in the end, incapable of modifying the mechanics to the point of making them truly performant on the track.
Thus, both companies began to collaborate in order to create a new and light GT to replace the successful Giulietta Sprint Veloce. Something to which Zagato happily joined, responsible for designing a refined tubular chassis with only 62 kilos full of rigidity; an achievement by the coachbuilder carried out thanks to the aeronautical knowledge of SAI Ambrosini.
THREE HOUSES ARE COORDINATED TO CREATE A SINGLE MODEL
Already into 1962, the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ took definitive shape thanks to the work of Zagato and Autodelta under the coordination of the house of “biscion”. At this point, while the “body” had achieved a rigid and light tubular chassis - just as Mario Colucci had already done at the end of the fifties in the Alfa Romeo-Abarth 1000 with only 640 kilos for 88 HP - the coach adjusted the four-cylinder with double camshaft and 1.570 cc seen in the high-series Giulia.
By the way, fed by two Weber carburetors that, together with a compression ratio greater than 11:1, could produce more than 160 HP in the tightest units equipped with double spark plugs since 1965. Likewise, aerodynamics played a key role thanks to the finishing with the behind “kammback”, capable of giving the model an unmistakable appearance while maximizing the possibilities offered by a weight of only 660 kilos.
1964, THE YEAR OF SUCCESS
Leaving aside the sports versions derived from touring models, the truth is that the history of racing Alfa Romeos during the 1900s is quite frustrating. Quite a bit because, at the end of the day, designs as exceptional as that of the 52 CXNUMX “Flying saucer” or that of the barchetta 750 Competizione left during that decade a trail of experimental models unable to reach the slopes due to the way and manner in which the competition department had to be cut off at the end of 1952.
Due to this, the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ project not only reached series - around 117 units were assembled since it was a requirement to make at least a hundred within a year for homologation purposes - but it was even a real ace on the slopes It is worthy of joy and amazement in equal parts. Of course, we must never forget - as we already said - the role of the Giulietta Sprint Veloce as a prologue in all this.
A PASSPORT FOR AUTODELTA ABSORPTION
Be that as it may, the truth is that during the 1964 season - the first on the circuits after having achieved the aforementioned homologation - the Giulia Tubolare Zagato showed itself practically unbeatable winning its class in races such as the Mille Miglia, the Tour de France, the Targa-Florio, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 1.000 Kilometers of the Nürburgring or the 24 Hours of Le Mans itself.
Furthermore, all that was not just a mere record; Far from it, he convinced the Alfa Romeo management about the convenience of returning to racing. thus absorbing Autodelta; which, just at the end of 1964, moved its workshops to the emblematic Balocco test track.
Anyway, in one way or another the TZ of 1963 paved the way for the Type 33 and the future victory in the 1975 Brands World Cup by the TT12. "How beautiful Giulia is!"
Images: RM Sotheby's
