This summer, Autoworld is honouring Abarth’s 75th anniversary with the help of the Abarth Works Museum. If you haven’t heard of the Abarth Works Museum, we recommend having a peek at our earlier reports. The Museum is definitely worth a detour, even with its temporary facilities.
The Abarth brand is currently known as Fiat’s racing and performance division, initially founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. The brand with the scorpion logo has its roots in the defunct Cisitalia brand: Carlo Abarth was the sporting director of the Cisitalia racing team, and when the manufacturer folded, Abarth took over their assets.
The team scored notable successes lining up legendary driver Tazio Nuvolari, who made his last appearance in racing behind the steering wheel of an Abarth 204A, winning its class in the Palermo–Monte Pellegrino hillclimb of 1950. Alongside racing, the company gradually built up its tuning services with accessories and performance parts for Fiat, Lancia, Cisitalia, and Simca cars and even collaborated with Porsche.
In 1951, the company’s headquarters were moved from Bologna to Turin, and Abarth intensified its ever-closer collaboration with Fiat, which led to the takeover in 1971. Abarth became the entire Fiat Group’s racing department under the management of engine designer Aurelio Lampredi. he brand’s greatest successes are achieved in rallying, with the 124 Abarth Rally and the 131 Abarth scoring several world titles. Afterwards, Abarth peaks with Lancia with the Beta Montecarlo Group 5 and the 037 Group B rally car, scoring world titles.
Despite notable successes by both Fiat and Lancia in several categories, Abarth was integrated into Fiat Auto Gestione Sportiva in 1981. After that, Abarth mainly existed in a zombie state as logos on sporty Fiat models until its revival in 2007.
The exhibition well represented this diverse history lining up models from several brands and decades. The earliest ones are from the 50s throughout several decades.
Visitors are greeted by a red 1966 Abarth ОТ 2000 periscopio, based on the Abarth OT 1300 scoring hundreds of victories. Only three of the OT 2000s were built.
Behind the Periscopio, a stage featured three cars, starting with the light blue 1959 Fiat Abarth 750/850 Sestriere Zagato, a small series production based on the Fiat Abarth 750 Zagato Coupé (without its iconic double bubble). The Sestriere models were characterised by a flat roof and two huge scoops on the tailgate. The Sestriere name refers to the Sestriere rally, where the 750 Zagatos won in 1958 and 1959.
This one also has the larger 850 TC engine and is right-hand-drive, making it extra rare, but we also loved it for its fancy blue racing livery.
The second car is a yellow 1958 Fiat Abarth 750 Record Monza. Despite the coachwork developed by Zagato, this Monza has a lower roof than the 750 Zagato without the distinctive double bubbles.
It proved to be the most successful Abarth racing car in the USA, and it was entered by the Roosevelt Racing Team, owned by Teddy Roosevelt, the son of the president.
The third car is a blue 1970 Fiat Abarth OT 1300 Scorpione SS, coachbuilt by Francis Lombardi. The designers took inspiration from the Lamborghini Miura, thus the Scorpione is sometimes referred to as Mini-Miura. The SS version featured a more refined chassis and four disc brakes, and this car was one of the last cars built under Carlo Abarth’s auspices.
The centre stage featured three cars, including two of our favourites, the 124 Spider and the 131.
The 1973 Fiat Abarth 124 with group 4 specification was entered the WRC in 1973 and achieved 2nd place in the constructors’ championship. In 1974 and 1975, this feat was repeated, with Markku Alen, Giorgio Pianta and Jean Todt behind the wheel.
The Abarth Spider is a tuned version of the 124, developed in 1972 for homologation under Group 4 specs. It was equipped with a larger engine, aluminium doors, and a five-speed gearbox. This original “Group 4” 1st series competed in the Boucles de Spa in 2010 with ex-Belgian champion François Duval. We spotted four of these beasts in the old warehouse at the Abarth Works Museum.
The next car, a blue 1981 Fiat 131 Abarth reminds us that Abarth managed to take this even higher, with the 131 Abarth winning three constructors’ world titles (1977, 1978 and 1980), the 1978 FIA Drivers Cup with Markku Alén, and the World Rally Drivers Championship 1980 won by Walter Röhrl in 1980.
The last car in this selection is a 1986 Fiat Ritmo 130 TC Abarth, the sporty version of Fiat’s successful Ritmo.
The following podium featured a 1970 Autobianchi A112 Abarth prototipo, a 1970 Fiat Abarth 595 SS Competizione and a blue 1958 Fiat Abarth Allemano 750 spider.
In the fifties and sixties, Carrozzeria Allemano supplied numerous bodyworks to Abarth, including this Spider, drawn by legendary designer Giovanni Michelotti.
For the 750, the underpinnings of the Fiat 600 were used, obviously fitted with a tuned Abarth engine. This Spider with aluminium bodywork was sold new in the USA, where it also had a racing history, both on track and in hillclimb races.
The smallest podium features two road cars, a small and a large coupé. The younger one is a 1956 Fiat Abarth 750 GT coupé Viotti.
In 1956, Abarth started its own car production based on Fiat 600 models. The Abarth 750 GT became best known for its iconic “double bubble” Zagato bodywork, but in the early years, other body styles were also considered, such as this hardtop by Viotti.
The second car is on the other extreme: the 1968 Fiat 2300 S Abarth is a large coupé, impressive even by today’s standards. The design was courtesy of coachbuilder Ghia. The letter S stands for the more powerful engine tuned by Abarth, adding 21 HP in the process.
We also spotted a 1973 Fiat 238 Autotransporter carrying a 1970 Fiat 595 SS Abarth. The front-wheel-drive Transporter van was based on the chassis of the Autobianchi Primula with bodywork by Franchini.
We will take a rhetorical break here, but you will find our favourite FIAT specimens in our next report in a few days. Our Abarth reports are now coming to an end until the new Abarth Museum building is inaugurated. We recommend visiting their website for updates.
