History of Abarth
In the last few years, Abarth has hit the fore in British motoring, proving its popularity with the Abarth 500. The firm has been going for some time though, and has a long and interesting history.
Abarth was founded in Turin back in 1949 by Austrian-Italian Carlo Abarth and Italian Armando Scagliarini. The logo, now synonymous with the power and performance demonstrated by the brand, is a scorpion on a red and yellow background.
The company has been associated with Fiat since 1952 when it built the Abarth 1500 Biposto. The cars were successful during the 1960s in hillclimbing and sports car racing events, competing with the likes of Porsche and Ferrari. Alongside the cars, Abarth produced high-performance exhaust pipes and later, tuning kits for other vehicles, primarily Fiats.
Abarth was sold to Fiat in 1971 and became the racing arm of the Italian company. Under the management of engine designer, Aurelio Lampredi, the branch flourished, produciong many of Fiat’s subsidiary models such as the Autobianchi A112 Abarth, one of the most popular ‘boy racer’ vehicles of its time.
The 1990s and early 2000s saw a near-disappearance of the name Abarth, then in 2007 the brand was relaunched with the Grande Punto Abarth S2000. It is now seen as a separate division to the main Fiat brand, much as Renault Sport is seen as distinct from Renault.
There are several Abarth cars in Berkshire and across the UK available for purchase, including the Grande Punto, 500, Punto Evo and the 695 Tributo Ferrari.
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