Also in 1955 appeared for the first time the prototype
Giulietta Spider, the production car being released at the Turin Motorshow
of the following year. Designed by Pininfarina, it used the same mechanicals
as the Sprint on a 50mm shorter wheelbase whilst lacking the metal roof of the latter.
The next variant to appear was the Sprint Veloce
in 1956. This was a Sprint modified by fitting aluminium alloy doors, bonnet
and bootlid, plexiglass side and rear windows, and an engine with different
carburettors, camshafts and compression ratio to produce 90bhp. A similarly
modified Spider Veloce was also produced.
1957 saw the introduction of the Giulietta TI which
installed the 65bhp Sprint engine in the berlina bodyshell. This proved
to be the most popular Giulietta produced, over 50% of the final total
production being this model. That year also saw a prototype being revealed,
the Sprint Speciale (or SS) by Bertone,
which is covered on a separate page, together with the Sprint Zagato
(or SZ). Both these latter cars used the Spider floorpan with a 100bhp
strong engine and five speed gearbox but with completely new bodyshells.
This latter model also received a little more power
in 1961 when the engine output increased to 75bhp and a floor mounted gearshift
became standard. All the berlina's also got a modified front grille, whilst
the Spider adopted the Sprint wheelbase, an increase of 50mm.
Also worth noting are the small number of Giulietta
Promiscua's produced, these being a four door estate car on the standard
berlina floorpan. The bodyshells were produced by Colli.
Production of the standard berlina stopped in 1963,
whilst the TI continued for a further year. Producton figures were :
Introduced
in 1954, the Giulietta was the first really mass-produced Alfa Romeo, and
vastly increased their profile. The first model to be released was the
Giulietta Sprint, a 2+2 coupe designed by Bertone with a 1290cc four cylinder
engine producing 65bhp. In April of the following year the berlina (or
saloon) version appeared, a four door, three box design with the same mechanicals
as the Sprint, but a longer wheelbase and a reduced 53bhp from the same 1290cc engine.
1959 saw a range of small changes to the engines. There was no official change
in the output power, but many dimensions were changed in order to improve
the reliability of the unit. It was sufficient for the series number of
the cars to be changed. Up until then they had been 750/753 series cars,
but with the new engine they became the 101 series. Some small changes
to the exterior of the TI were also made.
| Berlina | 39,057 |
| TI | 92,728 |
| Sprint | 24,084 |
| Sprint Veloce | 3,058 |
| Spider | 14,300 |
| Spider Veloce | 2,796 |
| Promiscua | 91 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Technical Details
| Driveline | longitudinal engine at front with rear wheel drive |
| Suspension | front
: wishbones with telescopic dampers and coil springs plus anti-roll bar
rear : rigid live axle with telescopic dampers and coil springs wheelbase : 2380mm (berlina, estate & TI); 2250mm (coupe, SS, SZ, Spider from 1961); 2200mm (Spider to 1961) front track :1292mm rear track : 1270mm |
| Brakes | front : drums (finned)
rear : drums handbrake operating on the rear via cable |
| Gearbox | 4 speed manual |
| Steering | worm and roller |
| Kerb weight | Berlina : 913kg
Sprint : 878kg Sprint Zagato : 785kg Spider : 860kg |
Performance
| model | max speed | 0-60mph |
| Berlina | 140 km/h / 88 mph | 19.6 sec |
| TI (65bhp) | 155 km/h / 97 mph | 17.7 sec |
| Sprint Zagato | 200 km/h / 120 mph | 11 sec |
Identification
Under the new system, from 1958/9 the Giulietta became
the 101 series. The berlina was 101.00, the Sprint 101.02, the Spider 101.03,
the Sprint Veloce 101.06, the Spider Veloce 101.07, the ti 101.11, the
Sprint Speciale 101.20, the Promiscua 101.22 and the Sprint Zagato 101.26.
Until the new system came into force the 1290cc engines
were all AR1315. Under the new system there were the AR00100 (53bhp), AR00102
(80bhp), AR00106 (90bhp), AR00111 (65bhp), AR00120 (100bhp), AR00128 (62bhp)
and AR00129 (74bhp).
The
original Giulietta Sprint had the model number 750B whilst the berlina
released the following year was the 750C. The Spider was the 750D, the
Sprint Veloce 750E and the Spider Veloce the 750F. The Giulietta ti (of
1958) became the 753. The Promiscua retained the 750C model number of the berlina.
The revised range in 1961 became the 101.28 (berlina)
and 101.29 (ti), the other models not changing their numbers.
Wallpapers/Desktop Backgrounds of numerous Alfa Romeo's also available to download.
There are also various statistics regarding production and sales.
There is also a list of all our picture galleries (including museums,
motorshows and various events).
Links
A website dedicated to Giulietta's
Alfa Romeo
Giulietta books :buy them online here(in
association with
Amazon)
 Alfa
Romeo Road Test Book : Alfa Romeo Giulietta Gold Portfolio 1954-65
Covers the Berlina, Ti, Coupe Sprint, Spider, Veloce, Zagato, 1600, SV and SS with over 300 illustrations and numerous articles. |
edited by R.M.Clarke, 1991 |
For more books on Alfa Romeo, see our Online Bookstore
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