History
A Short History of the Giulia Spider
From Pininfarina's Giulietta Spider of 1955 to the last of the 101-series cars in 1965 — how the Giulia Spider came about, and how it ended.
From Giulietta to Giulia
The story starts with the Giulietta Spider of 1955 — Pininfarina's open two-seater on Alfa's 1,300 cc twin-cam. In June 1962 Alfa introduced the Giulia, enlarging the twin-cam to 1,570 cc and giving the range a five-speed gearbox. The Spider carried that new package in the familiar Pininfarina body: the Giulia Spider was born.
1962–1965
Outwardly it was almost identical to the Giulietta Spider — the giveaways being the small bonnet scoop on the Veloce (from spring 1964), needed to clear the taller engine, and "1600" script at the rear. Underneath it was a generation on: more power, a five-speed box, front discs and a smoother engine. The bodies were designed and built by Pininfarina in Turin, the cars assembled by Alfa Romeo in Milan.
Normale and Veloce
Most were Normale — single-carburettor cars of around 92 bhp. The Veloce, from 1964, added twin Weber carburettors and hotter cams for around 112 bhp: the fastest and most sought-after of the Giulietta/Giulia production spiders. Telling the two apart is covered in Normale or Veloce: Telling Them Apart.
The end of a line
The Giulia Spider was the last of the Giulietta-derived Pininfarina spiders. In 1966 it gave way to the all-new Duetto Spider — the Kamm-tailed car that would run into the 1990s — making the 1962–65 Giulia Spider the final flowering of the original Pininfarina spider shape.