Jeremy Clarkson once described Italian hot-rodder Carlo Abarth as “completely bonkers” because of Abarth’s wonderful yet totally impractical designs, especially when taking the staid little 1960s-era Fiats and turning them into fiery sports cars.
To wit, this 1966 Fiat 850:
…into the snarling, 100+mph 1970 Abarth 1300 Scorpione:
In the parlance of my ill-spent yoof, the Scorpione would have been described as a “bird and a sponge bag” car, in that it had absolutely no luggage space at all, and the aforementioned two items were all that one could fit into the little screamer.
Like that’s important. And even though I would have no chance — zero — of fitting even my 25-year-old frame into the Scorpione, I would grab that little thing with both hands, oh yes I would.
Amyway, the Abarth story has a sad ending. In the early 1970s, they were bought out by Fiat, and disappeared without a trace — other than when Fiat wanted to make their rather boring sports cars (e.g. the 2015 Mazda Miata-based Spider) sound racy, and slapped the “Abarth” monicker thereon.
Note: In the U.S., the Scorpione was marketed as the Lombardi Grand Prix, fitted with the less-powerful 843cc engine.
Abarth also made exhaust systems for MGBs which EVERY MG owner had to have. A few more claimed horsepower but mainly FAR better quality and construction than the stock MG exhaust system. They also sounded MUCH better than the wheezy somewhat flatulent stock system.
I remember reading this article–
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/classic-cars/news/a24826/super-rabbit/
Tried to find one that still had the photos, but no joy.
A buddy had a Fiat 500 Arbarth a few years back and really liked it. It wasn’t terribly powerful but 160 hp in a tiny vehicle and near go-cart handling made him happy.
Drummer Knob had one, and christened it: “Little Enzo”. Of course, he was only driving around Monaco and Cannes, so it was perfect.
My first car was an 850 Mini, sold by a new car dealer that also sold Abarth – they even had a Twin Cam. Triple the cost of the Mini, and almost as much as you would pay for a 356 Normal Porsche.
When I was a senior in high school I sold a very worn, gas hog Plymouth and bought a 76 Fiat 1800 124 Spider with the Fittipaldi performance package that had 20k on the clock. The The HP was bumped to 134HP and the 4 speed was upgraded to a 5 speed overdrive. Other upgrades were Penstar aluminum wheels with slightly wider tires, stiffer shocks, larger sway bars, leather wrapped steering wheel, larger air dam on the front and side skirts.
When Fiat put their minds to it they could create a great handling car with some performance to it. I kept that 124 for 6 years and traded it when it had 155k miles on it. I had swapped out the original motor at 130k due to a blown head gasket that ruined the head. I rebuilt the transmission twice.
Upon your mention of Clarkson’s TV farm series my wife and I started watching it. 1 episode per week at supper time. Tonight we’ll be watching epi 2 of the 2nd season. We enjoy it quite a bit, it’s well put together, entertaining, and a little bit of learning. Mostly England countryside. He’s quite put out at all the gov’t interference at all levels. Thank you for the recommend.