It's safe to say that Alfa Romeos are much more than simple means of transportation, but some Alfas are more special than others.
Presented on the 24th of April 1963 on the Monza circuit, the Giulia Ti Super was Alfa Romeo's new weapon of choice for Touring car racing.
Only 500 cars were made between 1963 and 1964, all painted white except for two examples, one finished in red and the other in grey, to satisfy special requests. The Ti Super was, to all intents and purposes, a "homologation special," considerably lighter and more powerful than the regular Giulia Ti saloon presented just a year prior.
as always with Alfa Romeos, the best bit is under the bonnet...
The Giulia Ti Super is about a hundred kilograms lighter than a contemporary Giulia Ti, largely thanks to a simplified interior and exterior specification. For example, the inner pair of headlights are replaced by a mesh grille, while the bumpers lost their overriders. Ultra-light magnesium wheels were standard equipment, but all survivors currently wear modern aluminum replicas of the original design for safety reasons, given the magnesium wheels were prone to corrode destructively following even the slightest of damage.
The interior featured two lovely lightweight bucket seats instead of the bench commonly used on early Giulias. The door cards were simplified as well, and the dash sported a beautiful set of round gauges in place of the linear speedometer used on regular Giulias in these early years of the model. But, as always with Alfa Romeos, the best bit is under the bonnet...
although it achieved some notable results in hill climbs and rallies, the Giulia Ti Super largely failed to live up to the Marque's expectations where it mattered
The Giulia Ti Super's 1.6 liters all-aluminum twin-cam four-cylinder engine was rated at 112 HP at 6500 Rpm. An over 20% increase over the standard Giulia, thanks in no small part to these gorgeous two Weber 45 DCOE double-choke carburetors, replacing the puny 32 mm Solex of the regular Giulias. However, it's fair to assume the engine in the car featured in the video may well have a few more ponies still, given it's been fully rebuilt by the legendary Samuele Baggioli, who used to prepare these cars for racing back in the Sixties. It's been balanced, has higher-compression pistons and reprofiled cams, and sure sounds as good as it looks.
The Ti Super's racing career started in 1963, competing in the Grand Touring class, given the model wasn't homologated in the lower Touring class until January the following year. Unfortunately, although it achieved some notable results in hill climbs and rallies, the Giulia Ti Super largely failed to live up to the Marque's expectations where it mattered: the European touring car racing scene. Tired of playing second fiddle to the Lotus Cortina, the Alfa Romeo engineers developed a lighter and more focused model, launched in 1965 as the Giulia GTA.
But that's a story for another time...