To celebrate the 40^th birthday of Alfa’s Giulia on June 27^th, the grandfather and some of his successors met in the Rheinpark at the promenade with a view on Cologne’s Dome. Attending the meeting were a Giulia and its grandchildren of the 155 and 156 series, which are heavily influenced by 'granddad’s' genes.

First to the grandfather: I was surprised that the Giulia was already presented in 1962. Happy Birthday to you ! The gray temples suit you ! It was the prototype of the sporty yet roomy sedans, and without it we would never have seen the Golf GTI or the BMW 323i. The Giulia offers racing tech in an aerodynamic and characterful wrap. An unfortunate sidenote is that Giulia’s character suffered from rust and - at most - an average reliability. Despite that the car became a big hit and allowed Alfa the breakthrough as a massproducer, without having lost its identity. Less well-known is the fact that Alfa made a small number of station wagons, mainly for commercial purposes.

Giulia

The making of the model: First I compared all available models of 4-door sedans to the Giulia’s package in regard to the greatest possible congruity. Much to my surprise a Russian police car (!) proved to be the most suitable. The basis for the conversion (better: scratchbuilding) was a SES Lada. Plastic sheets were glued onto the entire body which was then reshaped with lots of sanding work. The biggest challenge was to tilt the windscreen or at least make it appear tilted. Because of that the A-pillar had to be set back. One wrong move and the work of several weeks could have wandered into the dustbin.

155 Street

The 155 is not considered a real Alfa among purists, because it was derived from the Fiat Tipo. It was not very successful in Germany and with the 156’s presentation the 155, first shown in 1992, was almost forgotten. The interesting aspects about this model are certainly its success in motor racing and its attractive wedge shape, which hides the Fiat origins very well. The basis for this conversion was the Herpa DTM model. The spoilers were sanded off, a new (higher) chassis was built and the body was re-painted.

156 Sedan

Much more beautiful than the 155 is of course the 156, finally adhering again to the tradition started by the Giulia. Its ageless and elegant design convinces, at the same time the shape appears quite sporty for a sedan. A special detail are the covered rear door handles, which almost make the car look like a coupé.

156 Sportwagon

This model was built using the now out of production kit from BS Design, which needed a few corrections mainly in the back area. The station wagon conversion was done by mounting a Golf II roof which was re-shaped using plastic sheets.