75 years of sportiness under the sign of the scorpion
Abarth 695, special model "75° Anniversario".
Photo source: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Stellantis
Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
Photo source: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Stellantis
Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
Photo source: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Stellantis
Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
Photo source: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Stellantis
Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
Photo source: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Stellantis
Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
Photo source: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Stellantis
Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
Photo source: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Stellantis
Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
Photo source: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Stellantis
When Carlo Abarth founded his own company in 1949, he chose his star sign, the scorpion, as his coat of arms. Even today, 75 years later, the particularly sporty offshoots of Fiat models still bear the trademark in the colors red, yellow and black.
Karl Abarth can be considered a pioneer of the tuning industry. He was born in Vienna in 1908. He had to end his successful career as a motorcycle racer after two accidents and then began building sidecar machines. After the Second World War, the Austrian emigrated to Italy, changed his first name and set up a Grand Prix team with the Turin-based racing car manufacturer Cisitalia. In 1949, he finally founded a company bearing his name with the businessman Armando Scagliarini. The official business purpose of Abarth & C.: production of vehicles and technical components for sports and racing use, development of equipment for production vehicles and the sale of racing fuel.
On May 8, 1949, Guido Scagliarini, the son of the Abarth business partner, achieved the first victory for the Squadra Corse Carlo Abarth. But big names also drove for Abarth. Piero Taruffi won the Italian Formula 2 Championship for the young team at the end of the season. Tazio Nuvolari celebrated the last victory of his career in the 1950 Monte Pellegrino hill climb in the Abarth 204 A.
However, Abarth was aware that running his own racing team would not be profitable in the long term. He then developed the first sports exhaust for the Fiat Topolino. This was followed by systems for other Fiat models, for Alfa Romeo and Maserati, Vespa scooters and a number of other brands. The company also equipped all Ferrari racing cars for a time. To make its products recognizable at first glance, Abarth designed a special identifying feature: matt black silencers with chrome-plated tailpipes. The exhaust systems were also adorned with the scorpion logo. They were popular not only because of the increased engine power, but above all because of the throaty sound, which also made a car equipped by Abarth acoustically unique.
The first own car
While exhaust production was running at full speed, Abarth developed its first complete road vehicle, the Abarth 205 A (1951). From then on, in-house developments were presented several times a year. The small vehicle manufacturer mostly used tried-and-tested Fiat technology, modified the engines according to its own ideas and had its designs clothed by Italy's renowned design studios. Among others, Bertone, Pininfarina, Ghia, Michelotto, Zagato and Boano worked for the self-made engineer, who was always neatly dressed in a suit.
The cars were made possible by the steadily growing business with exhaust systems. In 1954, Abarth & C. already produced almost 58,000 units; in the record year of 1962, this figure rose to 257,000 with 375 employees. Additional tuning accessories such as twin carburetor systems were also offered, which were adapted to thousands of engines used in production cars using intake manifolds developed in-house.
Fiat ultimately laid the foundations for its fame with the presentation of the 600 in 1955. The small car was ideal for the ideas à la Abarth. With power increased from 22 hp to 42 hp, the Fiat 600 Derivazione Abarth reached an almost unbelievable top speed of 130 km/h for the vehicle class. With a special streamlined version, the young company tackled the next sporting goal - world speed and distance records that were highly publicized at the time. In the summer of 1956, a team achieved a whole series of records on the Monza racetrack, which were repeatedly surpassed by newer Abarth designs over the course of the next decade.
A contract with Fiat
In 1957, Fiat launched another small car on the market that surpassed the 600 in its significance for the motorization of the so-called little man - the Fiat 500. Once again, Abarth gave the standard, rather weak-chested engine a boost. Instead of 13.5 hp, the two-cylinder engine in the rear produced up to 23 hp after the tuning cure. With another three hp more, a Fiat 500 Abarth set a new long-distance record during a seven-day endurance drive in February 1958.
This led to official cooperation between Abarth and Fiat. They agreed on a cooperation contract based on success: Abarth was to receive a bonus for every race victory. In order to derive the greatest possible benefit from the agreement, Carlo Abarth designed customized vehicles for the large number of displacement classes in use in international racing at the time. Abarth transformed almost every Fiat production model into a racing car in his workshop, which was also based in Turin from 1958.
Year after year, the sporty cars won hundreds of class victories worldwide, more than 7300 in total. The derivatives of the Fiat 600 were particularly successful, with a displacement of almost 1000 cubic centimetres by 1970 and an output of over 110 hp.
For races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in which prototypes were permitted, Abarth designed completely independent vehicles, for example the Abarth 1000 SP. Factory drivers won multiple titles in the World Endurance Championship and the European Hill Climb Championship. To celebrate these successes, the company logo was given new elements. A black and white chequered flag bore the inscription "Campione del mondo" ("World Champion") in red block letters on a yellow background, as well as a stylized laurel wreath. Abarth had even planned a Formula 1 car in 1967, but abandoned the project for cost reasons.
The company founder dies
Competition from the large factories was also becoming increasingly fierce, and the cost of motorsport rose considerably during this period. In addition, the heyday of small cars was coming to an end and sales of tuning accessories were stagnating. As the contract with Fiat was also coming to an end, Carlo Abarth had no other choice: the Turin-based car manufacturer took over his company in 1971. The PS wizard remained on board as a consultant. Eight years later, he died in the city of his birth.
The first Abarth created under the direction of Fiat was the Autobianchi A 112 Abarth. Fiat's racing department moved into the former company buildings, which at the beginning of the 1970s was exclusively dedicated to rallies. First the Fiat 124 Spider Abarth and then the Fiat 131 Abarth were used successfully. In 1977, 1978 and 1980, the Italians won the world championship title in the one-make classification, with Walter Röhrl becoming world rally champion in 1980 with the Fiat 131 Abarth.
As early as 1976, the motorsport activities of Fiat and Lancia were bundled in the joint works team Abarth Corse. Around 100 employees developed the racing and rally cars of the two brands at the historic Corso Marche site. Production vehicles with the Scorpio were only manufactured if homologation for motorsport required it.
The variants of the Lancia Delta developed by Abarth were almost unbeatable in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The all-wheel drive model won the brand title in the World Rally Championship six times in a row - a record that still stands today.
Later, the Abarth Grande Punto S 2000 (from 2007) and the Abarth 124 Rally (from 2016) built on these successes. Abarth also established itself as an engine partner of the Formula 4 junior racing series, with numerous national championships relying on the 1.4-liter turbo engine from Turin, which was also used by future Formula 1 drivers to climb the next rung on the career ladder.
Fiat also uses the name as a model designation for particularly powerful models. This series includes the Ritmo Abarth (from 1981), the Seicento Abarth (from 1998) and the Stilo Abarth (from 2006).
The comeback of the brand
In 2007, Abarth celebrated its comeback as an independent brand. The first model of the new era was the Abarth Grande Punto, followed a few months later by the Abarth 500. Carlo Abarth's sporting spirit later lived on in the Abarth Punto (2010), Abarth 595 (2016) and Abarth 124 Spider (2016). Special models such as the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari (2010) are coveted by collectors today. And the limited-edition Abarth 695 Biposto from 2014 is a veritable racing car with official road approval.
Abarth has also been electric since 2022. The Abarth 500e transferred the brand's sporting spirit into the age of electromobility and also generates an artificial engine sound on request. This year sees the addition of the 600e - the first four-door model and, with 206 kW (280 hp), the most powerful production vehicle model in the brand's history to date.
However, fans of the combustion engine will still get their money's worth at Abarth. The 695 "75° Anniversario" was presented this year to mark the 75th anniversary. The small sports car is powered by a 1.4-liter turbocharged petrol engine that delivers 180 hp (132 kW). The four-cylinder engine accelerates the Abarth 695 from a standstill to 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds, with a top speed of 225 km/h. In addition, the exclusive "Record Monza Sovrapposto" exhaust system ensures an unmistakable sound - entirely in the spirit of the company founder. (aum)
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Fiat 600 Abarth (from 1955).
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Fiat 600 Abarth (from 1955).
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Fiat 600 Abarth (from 1955).
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Fiat 600 Abarth (from 1955).
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Fiat 600 Abarth (from 1955).
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Fiat 600 Abarth (from 1955).
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Fiat 500 Abarth (from 1957).
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Fiat 500 Abarth (from 1957).
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Fiat 500 Abarth (from 1957).
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Fiat 500 Abarth (from 1957).
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Fiat 500 Abarth (from 1957).
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Fiat 500 Abarth (from 1957).
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Fiat 500 Abarth (from 1957).
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Fiat 500 Abarth (from 1957).
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Abarth record-breaking car.
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Abarth record-breaking car.
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Abarth record-breaking car.
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Abarth record-breaking car.
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Abarth record-breaking car.
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Abarth record-breaking car.
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Abarth record-breaking car.
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Abarth record-breaking car.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth at the Fiat Heritage Hub.
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Abarth 695, special model "75° Anniversario".
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Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
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Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
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Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
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Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
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Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
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Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
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Under the sign of the scorpion: Abarth.
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