The car was introduced in November 1977[1] and while it took its name from the original Giulietta of 1954 to 1965, it was a new design based on the Alfa Romeo Alfetta chassis (including its rear mounted transaxle).

[1] The Giulietta was unusual in that the tachometer rotated counter-clockwise, meeting the speedometer needle at the top, rather than the usual clockwise movement.

[6] The production Giulietta Turbodelta version had 170 PS (125 kW; 168 hp) and a KKK turbocharger coupled with two double-barrel Weber carburettors.

[8][9] While one of the quickest diesels in its category at the time, the Giulietta was rather costly and suffered from a very forward weight distribution (56.9 per cent over the front wheels).

The largest international market for the Giulietta was South Africa,[citation needed] where a very successful TV advertising campaign by Alfa Romeo produced good sales between 1981 and 1984.