Forget every ‘normal’ Giulia sedan you think you know. This is not just a trim level; it’s a revolution. The 1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Super, known by its sacred internal designation Tipo 105.16, is the car that cemented the Berlina Sportiva (sports sedan) legend. It is a pure, unadulterated “homologation special,” a machine built with the singular, ruthless purpose of dominating the European Touring Car Championship. This car wasn’t just meant for racing; it was a race car barely disguised for the road.

This is a car of immense historical significance for Alfa Romeo. It was the very first saloon car ever to wear the legendary Quadrifoglio Verde—the four-leaf clover that had previously been reserved only for Alfa’s purebred Grand Prix and sports racing cars. Placing it on the wings of this boxy sedan was a shocking, bold declaration of intent. Alfa’s racing arm, Autodelta, took the already advanced, wind-tunnel-designed Giulia and subjected it to a brutal lightweighting program. The standard steel bonnet, boot lid, and doors were replaced with featherweight aluminum panels. The side and rear windows were swapped for lighter perspex, and all unnecessary sound-deadening and trim were ripped out.

The transformation continued inside. The standard car’s plush bench seat was tossed aside for a pair of purposeful, competition-style bucket seats. The standard Ti’s column-mounted gearchange was hurled into the bin, replaced by a proper, floor-mounted, five-speed “joystick” shifter that snicked through the gears. But the soul of the Ti Super was its engine. The 1.6-liter all-alloy, twin-cam four-cylinder—already a jewel—was given the full Autodelta treatment. A lighter flywheel, higher compression, and hotter camshafts were added, but the crown jewels were the two massive, side-draught Weber 45 DCOE carburetors. This was hardware reserved for purebred GTs, not family saloons. The factory conservatively claimed 112 bhp, but everyone knew the real figure was much higher.

Externally, the Ti Super screamed its intent. Aside from the green clovers, it wore ultra-light, sand-cast Elektron magnesium wheels. But the most iconic cue? The front end. The inner pair of headlamps were deleted and replaced with simple mesh grilles, a functional modification to ram cold air directly into the hungry Webers. With four-wheel disc brakes to haul it down, this was a 1.6-liter sedan that could top 115 mph (185 km/h) and hunt down contemporary sports cars. Only 501 were ever built, just enough to satisfy the FIA’s Group 2 homologation rules. It’s not just a submodel; it’s the genesis, the blueprint for every great performance sedan that followed.