Before the war, Alfa Romeo was situated in the ultra-luxury sector, however, post-war, the company turned its attention to mass production. After achieving success with the mass produced Giulietta, Alfa Romeo introduced the Giulia as its successor, which also enjoyed excellent sales. The manufacturer had always been active in racing, and entered the European Touring Car Challenge (ETC) with the 4-door Giulia TI Super which proved to be no match for the Ford Cortina Lotus. In order to create a car that could beat the Cortina, Alfa Romeo worked to improve the Giulia Sprint GT, a coupe designed by Bertone.

Development of the successor was contracted to Autodelta, a company formed by ex-Ferrari engineers. The first order of business for Autodelta was to significantly reduce weight. To do this, they replaced the body panels with 1.2 mm thick Peraluman 25 aluminum alloy panels containing 7-10% magnesium, Campagnolo magnesium wheels, plastic side windows, and aluminum rear upper control arms. The interior was also simplified, resulting in a weight reduction of nearly 200 kg.

The engine adopted the twin-plug that would later be popularized by Alfa Romeo as the “twin spark” engine. The 1,570 cc aluminum engine was paired with twin Weber 45DCOE14 carburetors, magnesium camshaft covers, oil sump, timing cover, and clutch housing, also leading to a significant weight reduction. The Stradale version was capable of 115 hp while the Corsa version put out 170 hp.

The competition-spec Giulia thus born was named “GTA,” with the “A” standing for “Alleggerita” (lightweight). As over 500 units were produced, the Giulia GTA received Group 2 homologation certification and won back-to-back ETC championships from 1966 to 1969. The GTA's victories in numerous touring car races made the model legendary.

Because of its origins, the Giulia GTA, of which 501 were produced, mostly left the factory as a competition car. Many of the Sprint GTA Stradales have been converted to Corsa versions for classic racing enthusiasts. Therefore, an original Stradale example is increasingly rare and highly desirable among collectors.