It’s said that every petrolhead should own at least one Alfa Romeo in their lifetime, such is the attraction of the marque’s pedigree, style, reputation for sporting performance and sheer brio. Unfortunately, as I can attest personally with a 1998 156 V6 I ran between 1998 – 2000, owning an Alfa can also be a thoroughly depressing experience, as the reputation for unreliability and rust – traits which some would say apply to all the Italian manufacturers – is hard to deny.
Should this reputation be used to tar classic Alfa’s, though? In the same way that many would say that a Triumph Stag or Rover SD1’s problems back in the day will by now have been thoroughly sorted out, the same should surely be true of a 30 to 40 year old Alfa? Having never owned a classic Alfa, I don’t know if this is the case or not, but I do know that their past reputation for fragility seems to be baked into opinions of classic Alfa’s, too, deservedly or otherwise.
I also know that the Alfisti don’t care – they will overlook any perceived failings of their beloved cars and consider them to be far outweighed by their many endearing qualities, and if I were more mechanically adept I think a classic Alfa may well have found it’s way into my garage by now. I find the 105 Series especially desirable, particularly the perfectly proportioned Bertone-designed GT, but there’s also the Spider to consider, the quirky Junior Z and if my bank account could stand it, the stunning Montreal…
Other Alfa Romeo Tipo 105 Series models are available
Despite all this, my head and heart still prefer German classics, which is why I have two, but this week’s Prime Find is the kind of Alfa that could seriously tempt me back into the Alfisti ranks.
Some believe that BMW created the sports saloon sector with the introduction of the ’02 series, and especially the 2002, and yet the Italians could just as convincingly make the case that they were the first to create small sporting saloon cars, some years ahead of the Germans.
BMW introduced the first of the ’02 series, the 1600-2, in 1966, but the Italians came up with the 105 series saloons a little earlier, in 1962. Like its Bavarian rival, the 105 series, or Giulia, was for the most part a pretty conventional three-box saloon, but as with the BMW, the design is enhanced by the details, such as the grille and headlamp arrangement and rear end styling, adding character to what could otherwise have been a very dull design.
In Classic World, coupés and convertibles are invariably deemed more desirable than their saloon counterparts and generally fetch higher prices, even if they might be mechanically twins. This is certainly true of the 105 Series, not least because the Sprint GT’s perfectly proportioned Bertone lines are among the prettiest in motoring – I mean, just look at it. As a result, the cost of entry to GT ownership is inevitably higher, and rising. And then there’s the Spider…
The Giulia saloon, though, can usually be bought for within our budget ceiling of £20,000, if you can find one, and this week’s Prime Find fits perfectly.
The 105 Series was introduced in 1962, as the Giulia TI, the first of what was to be a considerable range of cars bearing the Giulia name. The initials TI in this case meant Tourismo Internazionale, a class of Italian saloon car racing, so the inspiration for the Giulia was clear from the beginning – a car suitable for driving long distances at speed, yet still a practical family saloon, and it’s 92bhp 1570cc engine provided brisk performance, which was improved further with the introduction of the TI Super, which could hit 115mph/185kmh.
A gaggle of Giulia’s
The Giulia 1300 was made available in 1964, launching it into a crowded market sector and the following year saw the 1300 Super hit Italian showrooms. Indeed, the Giulia saloon range continued to evolve over a period of fifteen years, and the below table borrowed from Wikipedia shows this succinctly and well.
| Version | Years of production |
| Giulia 1600 TI | from 1962 to 1967 |
| Giulia 1600 TI Super | from 1963 to 1964 |
| Giulia 1300 | from 1964 to 1971 |
| Giulia Super | from 1965 to 1972 |
| Giulia 1300 ti | from 1966 to 1972 |
| Giulia 1300 Super | from 1970 to 1972 |
| Giulia 1600 S | from 1968 to 1970 |
| Giulia Super 1.3 | from 1972 to 1974 |
| Giulia Super 1.6 | from 1972 to 1974 |
| Giulia Nuova Super 1.3 | from 1974 to 1977 |
| Giulia Nuova Super 1.6 | from 1974 to 1977 |
| Giulia Nuova Super Diesel | from 1976 to 1977 |
The Giulia was a significant success for Alfa Romeo, with over 85,000 of the 1300 Super alone built between 1970 and 1973, out of over 260,000 saloons – other variants of the Tipo 105 took the total to 960,000.
It also famously starred in the original The Italian Job film – most people think of the three Mini Coopers driven by the crime gang, but they were chased by the Carabinieri in a Giulia which came to a rather watery end.
“Our” car comes up for sale this very weekend at what would have been Silverstone Auctions Race Retro sale had Race Retro taken place – sadly, yet another classic event that has fallen victim to the pandemic. Nevertheless, the sale will go ahead, albeit virtually, and our Prime Find will go under the hammer on Sunday, so if you read this and find yourself tempted, you’ve got a day to check your bank account and have a rummage around the house for spare change.
The lot entry is exceptionally informative, so I’m not going to go into great detail in this piece – you can read it for yourself here.
It’s a fairly late (1972) Giulia 1300 Super, powered by the twin-cam, twin-carburettor 1290cc four that it shared with the 1300 GT Junior, producing a little over 80bhp delivered to the rear wheels via a 5-speed transmission, enough to push this small boxy saloon to a top speed of 165kmh and to cover the 0-100kmh in under 13 seconds.
It has the – to me – more desirable twin-headlamp set up, which gives the car a very purposeful look, and another thing this charming Giulia has is a super long-term owner history, something increasingly rare – for obvious reasons – among classic cars. That owner, a Senor Olimpio Gunella, took delivery of his Giulia on June 30th 1972 and cherished it ever since, using it only to go to church every weekend. As a result, he racked up a mere 2,000km a year and almost 50 years later was persuaded to sell his precious Alfa to the current vendor having covered just 88,000kms.
On being imported to the UK, the car was treated to a very thorough going-over at a cost of some £4,000 and is now up for sale again.
Not only is the mileage exceptionally low, this Giulia is in completely original condition, having never been restored, repainted or welded. It’s original Cava, or beige, if you prefer, paintwork is all present and correct, and the brown upholstery looks unmarked. The dash is beautifully simple, and there is a gorgeous wooden three-spoke steering wheel to add to the sensory pleasure of driving this sporty little saloon.
The auctioneer’s estimate for this lovely original Giulia Super is £15,000 to £20,000, and whoever buys it will be taking over custody of what has obviously been a much-loved car. They won’t come across very many in the UK either – at the last count there are a dozen on the roads here, another handful SORN’d. Certainly there are far fewer Type 105 saloons about than coupés, so if exclusivity matters, than the saloon is the way to go.
As usual, we have borrowed some of the many photos of the car from the auctioneer’s website, and while it looks terrific in those photos, we would of course recommend inspection before you bid, if you have time.
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us inspire by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same. Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk