Abarth has just turned 75, the brand that more than any other in the world popularized motorsport, building an authentic legend with record-breaking cars, revolutionary tuning kits and legendary races. All cars derived mostly from small mass-produced Fiats, thus demonstrating that very little was needed to race. His palmares is still impressive today: 10 world records, 133 international records, more than 10,000 victories on the track. A success story closely linked to production cars, another great strength of Abarth which, by testing, in the most severe conditions, the technological solutions which are then adopted in production, has become a laboratory brand.
The legend of the Scorpion began on 31 March 1949, when Carlo Abarth (1908 – 1979) founded Abarth & C. together with the driver Guido Scagliarini. Their first creation was the Abarth 204 A, based on a Fiat 1100, which entered automotive history on 10 April 1950, when Tazio Nuvolari used it to participate in and win his last race, the Palermo-Monte Pellegrino. From that moment, the history of Scorpio is constantly enriched with sporting and industrial records, always following the philosophy of its founder: maximum performance, craftsmanship for each product and constant technical refinement.
In reality, Carlo Abarth's fascinating story begins with motorcycles. At just twenty years old, Carlo achieved his first successes driving a Motor Thun and the following year he built his first customized motorbike under the Abarth brand. Unfortunately, during a competition in Linz, an accident forced him to abandon motorbike racing, but he decided to continue racing with sidecars, bringing this vehicle to the height of fame thanks to feats such as the challenge against the Orient Express train, which of course he wins. However, a second serious accident in 1939 forced him to abandon competitions permanently.
It is precisely here that Carlo Abarth's “second life” begins. In 1945 he moved to Merano and became an Italian citizen in all respects. Subsequently, after a brief experience in Cisitalia, in 1949 he founded Abarth & C. and, at the same time, had the intuition of combining the automotive activity with the production of the famous conversion boxes for series cars, which increase power, speed and acceleration. . One of the distinctive elements of these kits are the exhaust mufflers, which over the years become a true icon of the “Abarth style”. In just a few years, Abarth & C. reached global levels: in 1962 it produced 257,000 mufflers, of which 65% was destined for export.
The peak of success was reached at the end of the fifties and throughout the sixties. An example of this success is represented by the Fiat Abarth 750, with bodywork by Bertone in 1956, which set a record for duration and speed on 18 June on the Monza track, covering 3,743 km in 24 hours at an average speed of 155 km/h. Subsequently, from 27 to 29 June, again on the same circuit, the car obtained numerous other records such as the 5,000 and 10,000 km, the 5,000 miles, as well as the 48 and 72 hours. The same model was body-built by Zagato in two different versions: the Fiat Abarth 750 Zagato (1956) and the Fiat Abarth 750 GT Zagato (1956). The “hum” of these cars attracted the attention of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr., son of the president of the United States, who rushed to Italy to sign an exclusive distribution agreement with Abarth.
In 1958 Abarth created a true masterpiece on the new Fiat 500, completely transforming the small hatchback and maximizing its potential. In the same year, the collaboration with Fiat became increasingly closer and Fiat committed to giving cash prizes to Abarth based on the number of victories and records that the team achieved. This event is the basis of the impressive palmares that they would later collect: 10 world records, 133 international records and more than 10,000 victories on the track. The myth grows more and more, even entering the world of Formula 1. In 1971, Abarth was acquired by Fiat, which became the majority shareholder. During the 1970s and 1980s, the company continued to develop successful sports cars, such as the Fiat 131 Abarth, Fiat Ritmo Abarth, Fiat Uno Turbo, Fiat Panda 1000 Fire and Fiat Tipo 16v.
In the following years, the company underwent several transformations, but the Abarth spirit and brand continued to live on. In 2007, Fiat reintroduces the Abarth brand as a high-performance division, focusing mainly on the Fiat 500. The new Fiat 500 Abarth is a great success, combining retro styling with sporty performance. The rest is the history of our times. A story that for its 75 years will be celebrated with a temporary exhibition inside the Heritage hub (in Mirafiori, Turin), making use of the precious company collection and the support of private collectors who have donated their vintage cars. The exhibition is made up of 38 examples: from the first 500 that Carlo Abarth developed, conquering six speed and endurance records on the Monza circuit in 1958, through the legendary Abarth 1000 of the 1960s, up to the brand new Abarth 695 75th anniversary, which pays homage to the history of the scorpion and the famous 1.4 T-jet engine, from whose displacement (1,368 cc.) comes the limited edition of 1,368 examples.
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