History
The return of the four-leaf clover
Alfa Corse, the racing department of Alfa Romeo, had given up official participation in races at the end of 1954 after the great successes in Formula 1 (World Champions: 1950 and 1951) with the Alfetta and successful appearances at the Mille Miglia, Carrera Panamericana and many other important races. From then on, there was only factory support for private teams for their use of the types 1900 and Giulietta in various forms.
FiSA (predecessor of the FIA) had planned the official introduction of the European Touring Car Challenge in 1963. As regulations, the so-called Group 2 (special touring cars) was announced. Within this group, vehicles in different cubic capacity classes from less than 700 cc to over 3,000 cc could start. However, one of the prerequisites from FISA was it to have a homologation series of at least 1,000 built vehicles (within a period of 12 months).
At that time, the motto for manufacturers of sporty vehicles "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" was en vogue. Thus, the successful use of the types 1900 and Giulietta could already be marketed excellently. For this reason, the idea quickly matured in the management team to participate in the upcoming racing series with the new model "Giulia".
The development of the vehicle was carried out in the Technical Development of Alfa Romeo under the direction of Orazio Satta Puliga and Giuseppe Busso. It was planned to use the new model again under the official direction of Alfa Corse. The Giulia TI Super was therefore the first vehicle after 1954 to receive the four-leaf clover, which had been a sign of Alfa Romeo's racing cars since its introduction in 1923.
24. April 1963 MONZA
On this day it was finally time, Alfa Romeo presented the new Giulia TI Super to the astonished press. The location of the presentation was deliberately chosen. The legendary circuit in the Royal Park of Monza was the scene of the presentation and also later many great racing successes of this touring racing car.
Consalvo Sanesi (racing driver and tester for Alfa Romeo) showed the press what the new Giulia is made of. And they were impressed by the acceleration, handling and the achievable top speed.
The basis used was the Giulia TI (105.14), which had just been presented in 1963, which had sensational aerodynamics at the time (drag coefficient (cw value) of 0.34), but due to its equipment (steering wheel shifting, stick handbrake, continuous front seat) and the weight too high for racing, it did not seem to be suitable for successful use in racing. The aim was to bring a competitive car to the start for Group 2 of the Touring Car Championship or World Rally Championship.
Photos of the 24. April 1963 Monza presentation
press report Gazzetta Motoristica n°8 05-1963
press report Gazzetta Motoristica n°8 05-1963
