PURE ALFA-RACING SPIRIT
Built with the best craftsmanship of the old Portello factory workers, the "TI Super" was shown in premiere on April 24, 1963, to a large group of Italian and foreign journalists, invited to visit the brand new; state of the art plant in Arese.
Almost similar in appearance to the standard "Giulia", the "Giulia TI Super" was the result of a painstaking, but not radical, elaboration. The lightening of the bodywork was entrusted to Touring, which eliminated various non-vital components and replaced others with versions made in lightweight materials. The most important changes of the body work were the aluminum doors and hood. For the interior the lighter dashboard from the "Giulia SS" was adopted, two spartan but cocooning front seats replaced the bench, the rear side windows and the rear window were replaced by fixed plexiglass plates and the wheel rims in normal stamped metal sheet were replaced by rims in elektron produced by Campagnolo.
The central projectors, the heating system and other small details such as the armrests and the glove compartment drawer were eliminated. The bumpers and the rear seat were left in place because they were necessary for the street homologation, but could be easily removed for use in the race.
Important changes were made to the mechanics too. The standard engine was replaced with the "Tipo AR00516", recently developed for the "Giulia Sprint Speciale". The suspensions remained unchanged in the original geometry and only benefited from a careful sporting adjustment. The most important modification concerned the braking system, with the replacement of the drum brakes with 4 Dunlop discs, without servo control.
The shifting of the gear lever from the steering wheel to the floor was also carried out, with the adoption of a three-spoke steering wheel, with the single-button washer-wiper, with the front seat belts with two attachment points and, for the first time on a production car of the House of the Biscione, the distinctive sign of the Alfa Romeo Racing Department - the four leaf clover - was visible on the sides of the car.
Not having yet decided what color to make the car in, two bodies of the Giulia TI Super were painted in red and white: it was thus decided to adopt white for the entire production run. There is also a gray specimen, made to order, a one off example exhibited at the Fratelli Cozzi museum. In its short sporting career the Giulia TI Super took countless victories in national and international races, on the road or circuit, in speed contests, rally, hillclimbs and endurance races, driven by talented drivers such as Giancarlo Baghetti, Armando Cavallari, Andrea De Adamich, Ignazio Giunti, Fernand Masoero, Enrico Pinto, Nino Vaccarella and many others.
Ironically, its most significant affirmation, however, remains the "no win" at the 1963 Tour de France Automobile. The trophy was conquered by the elusive Ferrari 250 GTO, but on that occasion, the "Giulia TI Super" of the Masoero-Maurin crew brought home the class victory. (Gr. GT2.0).
The Giulia featured here is owned by the "Scuderia del Portello", which kindly made the car available for us. A heartfelt thanks goes to the “Museo Storico Alfa Romeo" too for allowing us the use of their track.
This car, chassis AR*595475, one of the 501 made by Alfa Romeo, was found in the factory of a big company which traded timber, built pieces of furniture and kitchens. The company went bankrupt and the car remained in the depot fallen into disuse. A total restoration had already been begun, but it was stopped.
Then the car was taken to Scuderia del Portello and given to the expert hands of the “historical” mechanics of the Portello Factory. During the restoration phase, they found out that the original base of the engine had big cracks on the passage of the oil. Therefore another engine of the same series (AR00516) was mounted, prepared for street use by the famous Samuele Baggioli.
The vehicle was then fully restored for a typically street use as well as for regularity races, and is currently available for sale with Scuderia del Portello.
