In 1974 the Alfa Romeo Giulia has been a stable and enchantingly beautiful factor in the Italian manufacturer's program for twelve years. The Berlina alone had been available in several capacities during that period, and the sports sedan had developed into an extremely desirable car with a very pleasant driving character. Yet the Giulia did not escape a makeover either.
In 1972 it had Alfa Romeo implemented a kind of rationalization in the Giulia range. The models of that year were called “unificata” and that actually stood for a first slight austerity. The grille was black with five chrome bars, the rims were down open and some chrome accents also disappeared. The modified Giulias were a prelude to a change that became even more drastic as far as the Giulia is concerned. Because in 1974 came the Alfa Romeo Giulia Nuova Super. Just like the predecessor, it was available with a 1300 and 1600 cc engine. These accounted for 89 DIN-PK and 102 DIN-PK respectively. The top in combination with these engines was 165 km/h and 175 km/h respectively.
Berlina 2000 influences
The Giulia Nuova Super stood out with a substantially different front design. The two lighting units on either side were now of equal size. They were mounted in a black plastic/plastic Berlina 2000 grille that also extended a bit on the outside of the outer headlights. Furthermore, the Alfa Romeo scudetto adapted. And the hood was now flat. At the rear there was now a straight, taut tailgate. The signature profile was retired. And that took some getting used to for the purists.
Preserving the good with innovations
Yet more than enough remained to recognize the Giulia as such. And profile remained much the same and there were still those wonderful 1300 cc and 1600 cc engines with double carburettors. The interior, which now had an extensive center console (a la Berlina 2000). There was now room for the oil temperature and water temperature gauge. Two extra openings were also made for ventilation. The Giulia Nuova Super got different furniture with standard headrests. The finish was still luxurious, with many wood accents and the wooden steering wheel. And the driver still had access to a fine five-speed gearbox and a view of a beautifully designed speedometer and tachometer.
Diesel
In fact, the Giulia was nearing the end of its production, but not before Alfa Romeo debuted the diesel engine in a passenger car. That happened in 1976. The Perkins 1760 cc diesel engine with 50 DIN-PK, with a top speed of 138 kilometers per hour, did not really match the sporty character of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Nuova Super. Nevertheless, the Italians still managed to sell 6500 of them.
Charisma finest standard facility
Remarkably, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Nuova Super was still praised for its fine driving characteristics, the beautiful finish, the engine character of the Nord power sources and….the aerodynamics. Power split circuit disc brakes, two horizontal twin carburetors and (on the 1600) a rear stabilizer were also standard. The most beautiful standard feature, however, was the charisma, which the buyer of the Giulia Nuova Super could greet even after the changes of 1974. And while the Nuova Super lost some nice design details, it still has plenty of character to enjoy to this day.
My first car,
A robbery was committed, the perpetrators fled in one alfa romeo giulia..
How magical that was at the time.
The great driving, shifting that it was a pleasure, passing everyone.
A view of the most beautiful bells, and speedily revving ...
Until the first flat tire. Jack up the car, jack up and the car stopped….
The disease has remained, many Alfa's passed, but that one Giulia still makes me soft
Well we have that with one Triumph Herald, afterwards you can laugh about it 🙂 and I can only say that my super little one is just rock hard so happy with it !!
Dear Joris, you just had the wrong copy! Never had problems with it, but had 20 pieces!
I am also happy with my '1300 74 super, with fabric cover, not so hot in the summer ...
Incidentally, the old beautiful boot lid also fits on the Nuova (dimensions the same),
but as a true purist, of course I don't.
I am happy to take my 1974 now Alfa Guilia 1300 in hand. Even after several weeks of complete silence, the car starts after a few attempts. The appearance in the street scene is still there. The last long trips were Spain and Portugal. And I can't speak to rust. Only the Prugno color does not suit my wife.
Spray the other 1/2 in her color Koen
Hey Sineke,
You have idd a real shame that a lot of those older cars have shrunk so much.
Our 67 Custom 500 used to be quite big, I'm not sure but the new Camry
looks like it's bigger. Well, buy a car today, do you want an 8 or 10 square meter SUV?
Preferably with a very long extension cord.
Bro.
Yes bro the SUVs of today bbbrrrr happy that there is still nice stuff for sale. Well your Custom was huge and when I called you that the car was swinging a bit in the Rocky Mountains you just said, oh then you're driving too fast whahaha!
And when I stood somewhere and opened the door and with a huge bang hit the car next to me oops never had such a big door so thank you mistake.
But to park the battleship in a row I dreaded and thought, I will wait until everyone has passed but no, they waited (out of courtesy) until I was ready and luckily it worked too.
Also reminds me of the time when I had to park in Hilversum with the Chevrolet Malibu (a lot smaller but not Lupo) and the only spot was right in front of the police station and on the wrong side of the road as well. I thought well I do care and while those burlap were looking in front of the window I smashed it in 1 x and tightly along the sidewalk. The only time I got applause from the police!
Be glad that you can still enjoy diesel with your CX in Canada, that is getting more and more expensive and difficult here.
In the early 80s, our family fleet consisted of a Mercedes 250 S (“equipped” with a 2 liter diesel engine: top speed 110 km/h) and a ALFA ROMEO GIULIA NUOVA SUPER, as in this article. A drama in terms of bodywork. In short: everything below the door handles was pulverized in front of our eyes by rust and rot and then just fell off or under, Front grille with the headlights just fell out, the entire suspension of the exhaust had rotted away so everything on the floor , rear bumper fell off spontaneously, floor in the trunk was Swiss cheese, … .. But otherwise a beautiful interior and equipment and technically a brilliant car that I even competed against Golfjes GTI.
Dear Joris, you just had the wrong copy! Never had problems with it, but had 20 pieces!
I had a 1300 Nuova Super, but because at the time I was cheated by the Hilversumse Alfa dealer that was not a success. Fantastic cars, times before that I thoroughly enjoyed a 1600 GT Sprint from '66. And a fellow student had a real 1600 Super in which we often drove, magnificent car. I didn't like my later 155, if only because of the wrong sound...
In terms of power, by the way, I now certainly very much enjoy my 17 year young 2 liter Subaru WRX (swearing in church perhaps for "real" alfisti) which now has a big 312 hp. And my Cobra with 7 liter V8 was also a great kick 😉 But a real old GTV or Super is certainly allowed: those shapes, that atmosphere and that sound!
However, it is to be feared that with all the dark clouds above the real car country, the enjoyment will be killed, classic or not.
I got into a taxi in Rome in 1976 and to my amazement the Giulia turned out to be a slow diesel indeed. I had never seen that in the Netherlands, a diesel was always a Mercedes or Peugeot or such a noisy marbling Rekord 2.1D.
When I see how beautiful a family car was then and how horrible they are now (the SUVs and hatch backs), I can only shudder at the modern. The modern materials make design easier, but the result that is achieved with them is still very disappointing.
Same for the interior. Those clocks and buttons that were in the cars at the time have now been replaced by screens. Doesn't look like much and cannot be operated. As a replacement for the clocks, the expensive watches are suddenly in demand (by the way, I just look at my phone nowadays). Just give me the bells of Veglia, Jaeger or Smith.
And finally: so much power from a 1600 Alfa block is so much more fun than 260 or more horsepower system power from a current engine / electric auxiliary engine. It doesn't seem like it on paper, but I would recommend everyone to give it a try. Now it's still possible.
It is almost a law that every bodywork modernization of long-term models makes a car less attractive and less sought after in the long run.
With the Guilia, this was the beautiful boot lid that had to be believed and the replacement of chrome by black plastic (they thought it was terribly beautiful in the 70s)
Yes really, I am very happy that I have a super 1600 that is the real one for me !!
Yes, I remember that I was going to modernize the chrome of my Opel Kadett with matte black paint. In hindsight, idiot of course.