Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing- and road-car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian

Carlo Abarth Carlo Abarth (15 November 1908 – 24 October 1979), born Karl Albert Abarth, was an Italian automobile designer. Abarth was born in Austria, but later was naturalized as an Italian citizen; and at this time his first name Karl Albert was chang ...

in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by

Stellantis Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automaker formed in 2021 through the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of the Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group, PSA (Peugeot S.A.) Group. The company's hea ...

through its Italian subsidiary. Abarth's logo is a shield with a stylized

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

on a yellow and red background, a short, wide

Italian flag The flag of Italy (, ), often referred to as The Tricolour (, ), is a flag featuring three equally sized vertical pales of green, white and red, with the green at the hoist side, as defined by Article 12 of the Constitution of the Italian Repub ...

in the middle, and "Abarth" text on a black background.

History

1949: Abarth & C.

Carlo Abarth was

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...

of the

Cisitalia Cisitalia was an Italian sports and racing car brand named after "Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia", a business conglomerate founded in Turin in 1946 by industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio. One of the most memorable cars manufactured by ...

racing team starting in 1947. The following year, the manufacturer folded, and founder Piero Dusio flew to Argentina. Abarth, funded by Armando Scagliarini, took over Cisitalia's assets and on 31 March 1949, Abarth & C. was founded in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. Carlo's astrological sign, Scorpio, was chosen as the company logo. From the Cisitalia liquidation, Abarth obtained five 204 sports cars (two complete Spiders and three unfinished), a D46

single-seater An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fend ...

, and various spares. The Cisitalia 204s were immediately rechristened

Abarth Cisitalia 204A The Abarth Cisitalia 204A was the first product of the recently founded Abarth & C.. As part of a deal in which Abarth took over the liquidated Cisitalia assets, the erstwhile Cisitalia 204 was marketed under both the Abarth and Cisitalia brands ...

. Abarth proceeded to build and race a series of sports cars developed from these last

cars. In addition to Guido Scagliarini, the "Squadra Abarth" racing team lined up celebrated drivers, including

Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari (; 16 November 1892 – 11 August 1953) was an Italian racing driver. He first raced motorcycles and then concentrated on sports cars and Grand Prix racing. Originally of Mantua, he was nicknamed ("the Flying Mantuan") ...

Franco Cortese Franco Cortese (10 February 1903 in Oggebbio, Piedmont – 13 November 1986 in Milan) was an Italian racing driver. He entered 156 races between 1927 and 1958, of which one was a Formula 1 Grand Prix and three were Formula 2 Grands Prix. Co ...

, and

Piero Taruffi Piero Taruffi ("Pierino Antonio Alberto Taruffi") (12 October 1906 – 12 January 1988) was an Italian racing driver, motorcycle road racer, motorsport executive and engineer, who competed in Formula One from to . Taruffi won the 1952 Swiss Gr ...

. Notably, Tazio Nuvolari made his last appearance in racing at the wheel of an Abarth 204A, winning its class in the Palermo–Monte Pellegrino hillclimb on 10 April 1950. Alongside racing, the company's main activity was producing and selling accessories and performance parts for

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...

, Cisitalia, and

Simca Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italy, Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simc ...

cars, like

inlet manifold An inlet manifold or intake manifold (in American English) is the part of an internal combustion engine that supplies the fuel/ air mixture to the cylinders. The word ''manifold'' comes from the Old English word ''manigfeald'' (from the Anglo- ...

s and silencers. On 9 April 1951, the company's headquarters were moved to

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

; Abarth began his well-known association with Fiat in 1952, when the company built the Abarth 1500 Biposto on Fiat mechanicals. In 1957, Abarth entered a deal with Fiat whereby they were paid direct fees for successful competition finishes. Abarth accordingly went on to enter their cars in countless hillclimbing and sports-car racing events across the world, mainly in classes from 850 to 2000 cc, competing with

Porsche 904 The Porsche 904 is an automobile which was produced by Porsche in Germany in 1964 and 1965. This coupe, manufactured from 1963 to 1965, was street-legal under road traffic laws, allowing it to be driven not only on race tracks but also on public ...

and

Ferrari Dino Dino () was a marque best known for mid-engined, rear-drive sports cars produced by Ferrari from 1957 to 1976. The marque came into existence in late 1956 with a front-engined Formula Two racer powered by a brand new '' Dino'' V6 engine. The nam ...

in the higher echelons. Since they were paid based on the number of results, Abarth entered their cars in every conceivable class and in countries across the entire world.

Hans Herrmann Hans Herrmann (born 23 February 1928) is a retired Formula One and sports car racing driver from Stuttgart, Germany. In F1, he participated in 19 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 August 1953. He achieved one podium, and scored ...

was a factory driver from 1962 until 1965, winning the 500 km Nürburgring in 1963 with

Teddy Pilette Theodore "Teddy" Pilette (; born 26 July 1942) is a former racing driver from Belgium. He participated in 4 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, the first on 12 May 1974 with Bernie Ecclestone's Brabham team. Son of André Pilette and g ...

. Abarth promised

Johann Abt Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

that he could race a factory car for free if he won all the races he entered. Abt almost succeeded; of the 30 races he entered, Abt won 29 and finished second once. Abt later founded

Abt Sportsline Abt Sportsline is an auto racing and auto tuning company based in Kempten im Allgäu, Germany. Abt mainly deals with Audi and the related primary Volkswagen Group brands—Volkswagen, Škoda, and SEAT—modifying them by using sports-type su ...

. Abarth produced high-performance exhaust pipes, diversifying into tuning kits for road vehicles, mainly for Fiat. A racing exhaust was produced for the 1950s

Lambretta Lambretta () was a brand of motor scooters, manufactured in Milan, Italy, by Innocenti. The name is derived from the word Lambrate, the suburb of Milan named after the river Lambro which flows through the area, and where the factory was locat ...

models "D" and "LD". Original Abarth LD exhausts are now valuable collectors' items. Reproductions are available, which carry the Abarth name; how Fiat feels about this is not known. Lambretta even held several 125 cc motorcycle land speed records during the 1950s due partly to the exhaust that Abarth developed for them. In 1958, Abarth developed the Abarth Alfa Romeo 1000 in collaboration with the Milanese manufacturer. They sent an engineer, Mario Colucci, to oversee the process. Abarth was impressed with his skill, and while the car remained a one-off, Colucci was given the position of Abarth's Technical Director in 1960. Colucci's first design was a mid-engined, tubular framed roadster using the 750 engine called the Abarth Spider Sport. This car had an unfortunate gestation period and never attained much success in competition, while Abarth himself favored the rear-engine layout and kept offering both types. Mallett (2004), p. 95. The Spider Sport series was also built with 700 and 1000 cc displacements, while a few late examples were fitted with 1300 cc engines of Simca origins. Colucci's next design, the Group 4 1000 SP, was much more successful and spawned a range of mid-engined, tubular-framed, fibreglass-bodied sports prototypes. Abarth also helped build sports or racing cars with Porsche and Simca.

1971: Fiat takeover

Carlo sold Abarth to Fiat on 31 July 1971. The acquisition was not made public until 15 October. As Fiat was not interested in the Reparto Corse racing operations, these were taken over by Enzo Osella. Osella obtained cars, spares, technicians, and drivers (amongst them Arturo Merzario), and continued the racing activity, founding the

Osella Osella is an Italian racing car manufacturer and former Formula One team. They participated in 132 List of Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix between 1980 and 1990. They achieved two points finishes and scored five world championship points. ...

racing team. Thus ended for Abarth the days of sport prototype and hillclimb racing. Under Fiat ownership, Abarth became the Fiat Group's racing department, managed by engine designer

Aurelio Lampredi Aurelio Lampredi (16 June 1917 – 1 June 1989) was an Italian automobile and aircraft engine designer. Early career Lampredi was born in Livorno, Tuscany. He studied mechanical engineering at the Institut Technique Supérieur in Fribourg. A cl ...

. Abarth prepared Fiat's rally cars, including the Fiat 124 Abarth Rally and 131 Abarth. In December 1977, in advance of the 1978 racing season, the beforehand competing Abarth and Squadra Corse Lancia factory racing operations were merged by Fiat into a single entity named EASA (''Ente per l'Attività Sportiva Automobilistica'', Organization for Car Sports Racing Activities).

Cesare Fiorio Cesare Fiorio (born 26 May 1939) is a former Formula One sporting director for Ferrari, Ligier and Minardi, and former team manager of Lancia's factory World Rally Championship team. He is currently employed as a TV commentator. His son Aless ...

(previously in charge of the Lancia rally team) was appointed director, while Daniele Audetto was

; the EASA headquarters were set up in Abarth's Corso Marche (Turin) offices. The combined racing department developed the Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo

Group 5 Group 5 may refer to: * Group 5 element, chemical element classification * Group 5 (motorsport), FIA classification for cars in auto racing See also * G5 (disambiguation) {{Disambig ...

racing car which won the 1980 World Championship for Makes and the 1981 World Endurance Championship of Makes. It also created the Lancia Rally 037

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

rally car, which won for Lancia the

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

World Manufacturers' Championship The World Manufacturers' Championship, also known as Automobile World Championship, was a competition organised by the AIACR between 1925 and 1930. It was the first World Championship in a motorsport. Scoring system Unlike the modern Formula On ...

). On 1 October 1981, Abarth & C. ceased to exist, and was replaced by Fiat Auto Gestione Sportiva, a division of the parent company specialised in the management of racing programmes that would remain in operation through to the end of 1999, when it changed to Fiat Auto Corse S.p.A. Some commercial models built by Fiat or its subsidiaries

and

Autobianchi Autobianchi () was an Italian automobile manufacturer, created jointly by Bianchi (company), Bianchi, Pirelli and Fiat in 1955. Autobianchi produced only a handful of models during its lifetime, which were almost exclusively small cars, with the b ...

were co-branded Abarth, including the

Autobianchi A112 Abarth The Autobianchi A112 is a supermini produced by the Italian automaker Autobianchi. It was developed using a shrunken version of the contemporary Fiat 128's platform. The mechanicals of the A112 subsequently underpinned the Fiat 127. It was introd ...

, a lightweight and inexpensive "

boy racer Boy racer is a term given to a young person who drives in a fast and aggressive manner; it has become a broader term (often pejorative) for participants in modern custom car culture who tune and modify cars with street racing-style afterma ...

". The A112 Abarth was introduced with a 58 hp engine, soon followed by a 70 hp one, and a specific "A112 Abarth trophy" was run from 1977 to 1984. In the 1980s, Abarth name was mainly used to mark performance cars, such as the

Fiat Ritmo The Fiat Ritmo is a small, front-engine, front-wheel drive family car manufactured and marketed by Fiat, launched in April 1978 at the Turin Motor show and offered in 3- and 5-door hatchback and cabriolet body styles – from 1978 to 1988 with ...

Abarth 125/130 TC. In 2000s, Fiat used the Abarth brand to designate a trim/model level, as in the Fiat Stilo Abarth.

2007: Rebirth of Abarth & C. S.p.A.

On 1 February 2007, Abarth was re-established as an independent unit with the launch of the current company, Abarth & C. S.p.A., controlled 100% by Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., the

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

of Fiat S.p.A. dealing with the production and selling of passenger

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

s and

light commercial vehicles A light commercial vehicle (LCV) in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand is a commercial carrier vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 Tonne, metric tons (tonnes). The LCV designation is also occasionally used in both ...

. The first models launched were the Abarth Grande Punto and the Abarth Grande Punto S2000. The brand is based in the Officine 83, part of the old Mirafiori engineering plant. The

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

as of 2022 is

Olivier François Olivier François (4 October 1961) is a French business executive and the CEO of Fiat, Abarth, and DS Automobiles since 2011. He is global chief marketing officer for Stellantis, and a member of the company's Group Executive Council, a position ...

. In 2015, Abarth's parent company was renamed FCA Italy S.p.A., reflecting the incorporation of Fiat S.p.A. into

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA), now part of Stellantis, was an Italian-American multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of Car, automobiles, commercial vehicles, List of auto parts, auto parts and production systems. ...

that took place in the previous months.

Yamaha XSR900 Abarth

In 2017, Abarth collaborated with Yamaha to produce a limited-edition motorcycle, the "Sport Heritage café racer special". Named the XSR900 Abarth it was based on the 847 cc inline-triple

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

neo-retro Yamaha XSR900.

Production

Current models

Cars produced by Abarth

Standalone models (original bodywork)

* Abarth 204A * Abarth 205A Berlinetta * Abarth 207A Spyder Corsa Boano *

Abarth 208A Spyder Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing- and road-car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Abarth's logo is a shield with a s ...

Boano * Abarth 209A Coupé Boano * Abarth 210A Spyder Boano * Abarth 215A Coupé Bertone * Abarth 216A Spyder Bertone * Fiat Abarth 1000 SP * Abarth 1100 Scorpione Spider (Boano) * Abarth 1500 Biposto * Abarth 3000 Prototipo * Fiat-Abarth 750Authentic USA-Spec Abarth: 1958 Fiat 750
Retrieved on 2 April 2011 * Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato * Fiat-Abarth 750 Spider Allemano * Fiat-Abarth 1000 OTR Berlinetta Bertone * Abarth OT 1300 * Abarth Monomille

Fiat variant models

* Fiat-Abarth 500 * Fiat-Abarth 595 SS * Fiat-Abarth 695 SS * Fiat-Abarth 850 TC * Fiat-Abarth 1000 TC (Fiat 600 based) * Fiat Abarth 1000 TCR Berlina * Fiat-Abarth OT1000 * Fiat Abarth OTR 1000 * Fiat-Abarth OT1600 * Fiat-Abarth OT 2000 Competition CoupéThe Observer's Book of Automobiles, Thirteenth Edition, 1967, page 27 * Fiat-Abarth 2200 * Fiat-Abarth 2400 * Fiat Ritmo 125/130 TC Abarth * Fiat Abarth 124 Rally * Fiat 131 Abarth Rally

Other variant models

* Abarth Simca 1300 GT *

Abarth Simca 2000 The Abarth Simca 2000 was an Italian high-performance automobile produced in the 1960s as a collaborative project of the Simca and Abarth companies in Turin, Italy. Product description The A-S 2000 was a coupé powered by a four-cylinder Abarth e ...

– coupé * Alfa Romeo Abarth 2000 Coupe * Porsche 356 B Carrera GTL Abarth * Abarth Grand Prix/Scorpione * Lancia Rally 037 *

Cars not produced by Abarth but with Abarth badges

* Fiat Bravo GT/HGT (Abarth) * Fiat Stilo 2.4 Abarth * Fiat Punto HGT (Abarth) * Fiat Cinquecento Sporting (Abarth) * Fiat Seicento Sporting (Abarth)

Cars produced under Abarth & C. S.p.A. (2007–)

* Abarth 500 / Fiat 500 Abarth (NA) *

Abarth 595 The Fiat 500 is an A-segment city car manufactured and marketed by the Italian car maker Fiat, a subdivision of Stellantis, since 2007. It is available in hatchback coupé and fixed-profile convertible body styles, over a single generation, with ...

* Abarth 695 * Abarth Grande Punto * Abarth Punto Evo * Abarth 124 Spider / Fiat 124 Spider Abarth (NA) * Fiat Abarth Punto * Abarth Pulse * Abarth Fastback * Abarth 600e

Cars produced with Abarth tuning

* Fiat 500 TwinAir byAbarth * Fiat 500S by Abarth * Fiat Avventura Powered by Abarth * Fiat Urban Cross Powered by Abarth * Fiat Fastback Limited Edition Powered by Abarth

Cars produced by other manufacturers with involvement from Abarth

Lancia Delta S4 The Lancia Delta S4 (also known by its Abarth project code ''SE038'') is a Group B rally car manufactured by Lancia. The Delta S4 competed in the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986, until Group B class was disbanded and the cars were eve ...

for

– Helped to engineer the engine which utilised a supercharger and turbocharger.

Cars produced under Fiat Corse – N Technology named Abarth

* Fiat Punto Abarth (rally version only) * Fiat Cinquecento 900 Trofeo kitcar (teams had to build up their own rallycar from Fiat N Technology derived Abarth racingparts) * Fiat Cinquecento Sporting 1.1 Rally car * Fiat Seicento Sporting 1.1 Rally car

Motorsport

Rally

FIA R-GT Cup

* 2017 FIA R-GT Cup (Runner-up) * 2018 FIA R-GT Cup (Champion) * 2019 FIA R-GT Cup (Champion) * 2020 FIA R-GT Cup (Champion)

Explanatory notes

References

External links

History of Abarth Logo
on roadzine.com * {{Automotive industry in Italy Italian companies established in 1949 Auto tuning companies Car brands Car manufacturers of Italy Fiat Italian brands Italian racecar constructors Official motorsports and performance division of automakers Stellantis Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Turin Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1949