Rare Rides: The 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 TI Giardiniera
Though a current model at the brand, Alfa Romeo’s Giulia originated in the 1960s as a long-running middle-market sedan. Today’s example is one of the rarest made, with a performance-oriented drivetrain and a family wagon body. It’s even a lovely color.
Worth a side note before we get started, we have featured a coupe bearing the Giulia name, the Sprint Speciale showed early in 2020. While named as Giulia, underneath it was actually an updated variant of the older Giulietta and not the same car. The real Giulia entered production in 1962 in Milan and was a replacement for the outgoing Giulietta. Considered a compact executive car, it was available only with four doors, and as a sedan or wagon.
Engines were three, and included gasoline power via 1.3- and 1.6-liter inline fours (both of twin-cam variety) and a 1.8-liter diesel. Interestingly the diesel mill was made in England by a company called Perkins, which today is owned by Caterpillar. All transmissions were manual and had either four or five speeds. Less sporty, the four-speed was limited to the base 1.3-liter trim. The two gasoline engines were considered powerful in their day, and it was a novel idea to add considerable power to a mainstream sedan. Dependent upon carbs and tune, power ranged from 80 to 110 horses in a car that weighed between 2,150 and 2,500 pounds.
The Giulia range was a complicated one, and there were 12 different trims during the car’s production from 1962 to 1977. For 1967, the 1600 TI had the largest engine but was one step below the top-tier Nuova Super 1.6, which had sportier-looking trim. 1600 TI existed from 1962 to 1967 before it was replaced by the 1600 S. At the 1600 TI’s level, the wagon – Giardiniera – was much less common than the sedan. Constructed by coachbuilder Carrozzeria Colli in Milan just 16 examples were completed in total. Of those, 11 had rear windows, and five were panel wagons.
Today’s particular windowed wagon was purchased by an American living in Italy, who took it to Paris for a year or two and then to the US. It stayed in the original owner’s family in California for some time and needed a restoration by the end of the Seventies. Eventually, it was sold to a collector in Holland in 2006. It’s there now, where it’s on sale for $79,000.
[Images: YouTube]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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Reminds me of driving buy one of the local McDonald's on Easter Sunday. A couple was stepping out of a new Giulia. I pointed it out and the first thing out of my wife's mouth is: "Why are they eating at McDonald's?"
That is the best Italian can design? It looks like Japanese car of period. For 79K I can buy Lincoln Navigator! Is box as well, but better and bigger box.