 | Alfa Romeo celebrates 50 years of three institutions which have played an important role in its hundred-year history: the "Giulia" model, the Balocco test circuit and the Registro Italiano Alfa Romeo (RIAR - "Italian Alfa Romeo Register").
This year, Alfa Romeo is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the "Giulia", a car which is particularly significant in the brand's hundred-year history, as a model which successfully exhibited both the technical and creative talent of Alfa Romeo during a time of exceptional growth for the company.
The style, the technical content, the performance, the reliability and the innovation are just some of the elements which led to the "Giulia's" success: from 1962 to 1977 the Giulia's range of bodywork variants and engine options combined sold one million units, and the vehicle made its mark on an international level. A significant commercial success, which certainly played its part in making the model one of Alfa Romeo's most well known automotive icons.
On 27th June 1962, the "Giulia TI" - for that was the official name - was presented to the international press at the Monza track, the circuit on which Alfa Romeo achieved so many of its sporting successes and tested all of its racing vehicles up until the start of the Seventies. Three years later, the Brianza track saw the official return of Alfa Romeo to competition with the "Giulia Sprint GTA", another extraordinary vehicle from the Giulia range.
An official logo has been created for the Giulia tribute, which originates from a very famous advertisement, the slogan of which, "designed by the wind", underscores the aerodynamic quality of the Giulia saloon, which had a cx of 0.34 - still an impressive value today - also resulting from its "revolutionary" and highly personal design, which has always differentiated the sporty saloon amid the competition.
Alfa Romeo clubs, enthusiasts and automotive fans all over the world will be paying tribute to the Giulia, culminating on 24th June on the test track in Balocco. The specific location was also chosen to celebrate the plant's 50th birthday: it was in fact in 1962 that work was completed on the circuit located 60 km from Milan amidst the paddy fields of the Vercelli area. Over an area of 190 hectares, this track made Alfa Romeo one of the first European manufacturers to have available a structure of this type for the testing and technical development of its vehicles, both racing and road cars. The Autodelta, Alfa Romeo's official racing department, was one of the first to use this circuit, which offers a range of famous bends, reproducing as closely as possible the environment which racing cars are required to perform.
All of the standard models, from the Giulia onwards, have been developed and tested at Balocco: and through this, Alfa Romeo has been able to consolidate its leadership in terms of the dynamic performance of its vehicles, one of the brand's universally renowned features. Today, the "Balocco Proving Ground" boasts more than 80 km of circuits and tracks of all kinds, on which it is possible to complete almost every type of test, not just for cars, but for tractors, trucks and special vehicles.
The new Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde will be one of the vehicles leaving from Balocco for England to take part in the 'Goodwood Festival of Speed', one of the world's biggest automotive events. During the trip, the Alfa Romeo team will have the chance to get together with Alfa Romeo Club fans from the 7 participating nations - Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Holland, Belgium and the UK - and to document the whole adventure, as well as the festival, through images and videos posted on the goodwood.alfaromeo.com website, as well as on the Giulietta Twitter account: twitter.com/alfa_giulietta.
Along with the "Giulia" and "Balocco", the Registro Italiano Alfa Romeo (R.I.A.R.), one of the brand's two official clubs together with the Scuderia del Portello, will also turn 50 this year. 1962 saw the creation of this association, one of the most prestigious and long-lasting, which still today counts around two thousand members, one of the finest and rarest vehicle fleets, and an annual schedule packed with events in Italy and abroad. The "Registro" will celebrate its half century on 23rd June in Cremona, with an event involving both members and local institutions at a location which in 1924 saw the winning debut of the "P2", the first Alfa Romeo to win a world title.
FIAT AUTOPRESS
Turin, 22nd June 2012 | |