This year, the sporty Italian brand Abarth celebrates its 70th anniversary and the round birthday provided quite a few great opportunities for a rendezvous with the brand’s legacy, present and future.
Major classic car shows gave plenty of firecrackers this year, such as the Retromobile, when FCA Heritage was celebrating the history of collaborations between Abarth and other Italian manufacturers.
The factory stages from France, Italy and Japan to bring variety at Rétromobile
But for those who could not attend those events, it is worth paying a visit to a permanent exhibition near Brussels, the Abarth Works Museum. With its current fleet of over 300 cars (the ones in pieces and parts not counted : ) ) the Works Museum provides enough impulses for a several hours walk. After a thorough second visit, I reckon that the only comparable place for a visit is the FCA Heritage HQ some 2000 km away. In fact, there is already a post on my first visit, and this article will reuse most of the photos. So there may be photos that feature the same cars in a different order, as there may be a year difference. Just to explain the glitch in the Matrix. : )
The owner, Guy Moerenhout was one of the very last Abarth rally racers with support from Fiat Auto Belgio (he finished on the podium in the Belgian championship). He has been the owner of a Car and Tuning Workshop since 1971, and he opened the Abarth Works Museum in 2007 in Lier (close to Antwerp).
At first glance, visitors might not suspect anything particular. The museum seems like a smaller classic car dealership, with a few dozen cars on display mainly of Italian origin. Some of the vehicles are rare exotics, like the right-hand drive Abarth or the sporty Fiat and Simca Abarth coupés.
There some historical cars like the Fiat 500 that won Monte Carlo rallies or the elegant blue Fiat coupé, these could already make the day for fans of Italian cars.
In fact, the owner explained to me that many of the cars in the front window are not primarily for sale. The purpose of the collection is to work as a living museum that prepares its cars for classic races and does special jobs for recreating classic cars.
The bulk of the fleet is however in the vast garage situated behind a door, and I highly recommend to pay the 5 euro entry fee, it is an investment worth every penny!
Entering the vast main hall of the garage is like going through an interdimensional gate, from the outside, or from the front office, one can not suspect the dozens of cars lurking in the back. There are lines of 124 race cars, roadsters classic Zagato coupés and even a line-up of prototype rarities and race cars.
The fleet consists mainly of Fiats, in addition to quite a few models of SEAT, Lada and Simca, but also many cars from the eastern block are represented.
The most striking car of the whole Museum is an Abarth 030 remake on Lancia Monte Carlo basis. Given that the racing Lancias were partly developed on Abarth prototypes the retrofitting is not entirely inappropriate. In the forums on the Collection’s website document the makeover pretty well.
According to Mr Moerenhout, the project was called to life by former works driver Giorgio Pianta, who asked him to rebuild the prototype from a Lancia that shared some of the technological platform with the 030.
Basically, the replica is reverse-engineered from production car that was developed based on the 030, with the help of Giorgio Pianta providing measurements, photos and models.
I also found the Fiat Abarth X1/9 prototipos quite impressive, notably as there were two specimens taking centre stage of the main hall.
Another highlight was Fiat 750 Abarth that raced in the US as part of F D Rooswelt Jr’s team. Judging from the trophies on the car, it continues to perform pretty well in classic races.
But any of the 750 would make my day…
As the Works Museum prepares cars for classic rallies, Mr Moerenhout showed me the two cars that are being prepped for a trip to Finland. The Fiat 131 Abarth rally car participated in many historic rallies, so it is a two-time veteran.
The blue 2300 with roll cage is also quite a treat.
There are many unique cars in the hall, and also the back room, from Abarth racing, works vans and trucks to unique prototypes.
Another rare specimen is an Italian OSI-Ford 20 M TS, that is a sports coupe produced by the Italian car manufacturer Officine Stampaggi Industriali. The car was designed by Sergio Sartorelli, who was also credited with the Karmann Ghia. The OSI was developed on the Ford 20M’s technical basis and remained in production between 1967 and 1968. Only a few thousand cars were produced before OSI went into bankruptcy, and only a few hundred cars survived the decades.
The car that really strikes out is a Volkswagen XL1, Ferdinand Piech’s ultimate one-litre car, where the volumetric measure does not refer to engine size but consumption for 100km.
While it seems like a genuine concept car, the XLX1 was in limited production offered as a two-seater diesel-powered plug-in hybrid.
The XL1 car was conceived to fulfil Piech’s dream to be able to travel 100 kms on a single litre of diesel fuel (i.e. 280 mpg according to‑US standards), while being both roadworthy and reasonably practical (okay there was a bit of a cheating there ).
So the car was enhanced using lightweight materials, a streamlined body and an engine and transmission designed for economy. A limited production of 250 units began by mid-2013 reaching customers in the following year, and according to reports, pricing started at €111,000. The production car was available only in Europe with an all-electric range of 50 km and a fuel economy of 0.9 l/100 km under the NEDC cycle and emission rating of 21 g/km of CO2.
The Museum is also a focal point for eastern models, from Volgas and Wartburgs to polish rarities.
The red Warszawa is a 1957 production car that was the first model build by FSO after the war, but the model was also known in Russia as Volga M20 Pobeda.
The owner also pointed out the FSM Syrena 105, as the worst car of the Museum. Although I must say the car itself was in a very decent condition, and the 105 was the last Syrena design, hence the most “advanced”.
Even if it is not the best term to describe a car produced until 1983 in the FSM factory.
Another highlight was the duo of Lada 2105s that arrived from Hungary where it raced with quite some dignity.
