Abarth facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 31 March 1949 |
| Founder | Carlo Abarth |
| Headquarters |
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Italy
45°03′39″N 7°35′28″E / 45.0608762°N 7.591101°E |
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Area served
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Key people
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| Parent | Stellantis Europe |
Abarth & C. S.p.A. is an Italian car company famous for making high-performance racing and road cars. It was started in 1949 by a car expert named Carlo Abarth. Today, Abarth is a special performance division owned by the large automaker Stellantis.
You can always spot an Abarth car by its cool logo: a shield with a black scorpion on a yellow and red background. The scorpion was chosen because it was Carlo Abarth's star sign!
Contents
The Story of Abarth
How It All Began
The story of Abarth starts with its founder, Carlo Abarth. He was the sporting director for a racing team called Cisitalia. When that company closed in 1948, Carlo saw an opportunity. On March 31, 1949, he started his own company, Abarth & C.
He took over some of Cisitalia's old race cars and parts and started his own racing team, "Squadra Abarth." The team had famous drivers like Tazio Nuvolari, who won a race in an Abarth car in 1950.
Besides racing, Abarth became known for making special parts that made regular cars go faster. They made performance parts for brands like Fiat, Lancia, and Simca. Their high-performance exhaust pipes were especially popular.
In 1952, Abarth started working closely with Fiat, building special cars based on Fiat models. This partnership led to many victories in hillclimb and sports car races all over the world.
Joining the Fiat Family
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On July 31, 1971, Carlo Abarth sold his company to Fiat. Abarth then became the official racing department for the entire Fiat Group.
Under Fiat's ownership, Abarth focused on preparing cars for rallying, a type of racing on roads and dirt tracks. They created legendary rally cars like the Fiat 124 Abarth Rally and the 131 Abarth. These cars were very successful in championships.
During the 1980s, the Abarth name was used on the sportiest versions of Fiat's road cars, like the Fiat Ritmo Abarth 130 TC. The name became a symbol of speed and fun.
The Return of the Scorpion
After many years, Fiat decided to bring Abarth back as its own separate brand. On February 1, 2007, Abarth & C. S.p.A. was officially reborn.
The new company launched exciting models like the Abarth Grande Punto. It continued the tradition of turning everyday Fiat cars into powerful, fun-to-drive machines.
In 2017, Abarth even worked with the motorcycle company Yamaha to create a special limited-edition bike called the XSR900 Abarth.
Abarth Cars Through the Years
Abarth has created many amazing cars. Some were built from scratch, while others were powerful versions of cars from other brands like Fiat.
Current Models
These are the cars Abarth is making today.
| 500 | New 500e | Pulse | Fastback | 600e |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class: City car Body style: 3-door hatchback or cabriolet Production: 2008–present |
Class: City car Body style: 3-door hatchback or cabriolet Production: 2023–present |
Class: Subcompact crossover Body style: 5-door hatchback Production: 2022–present |
Class: Subcompact crossover SUV Body style: 5-door coupe SUV Production: 2023–present |
Class: Subcompact crossover SUV Body style: 5-door SUV Production: 2024–present |
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Famous Past Models
Here are some of the most well-known Abarth cars from the past:
- Abarth 204A: One of the first cars to carry the Abarth name.
- Fiat-Abarth 500: A tiny but very fast version of the classic Fiat 500.
- Fiat-Abarth 850 TC: A racing car based on the Fiat 600 that won many races.
- Fiat Abarth 124 Rally: A successful rally car from the 1970s.
- Fiat 131 Abarth Rally: A world champion rally car.
- Autobianchi A112 Abarth: A small, lightweight, and fun car popular with young drivers.
- Abarth 124 Spider: A modern sports car that brought back a classic name.
Abarth in Motorsport
Racing is in Abarth's DNA. From the very beginning, the company built cars to compete and win.
World Rally Champions
Abarth's biggest successes came in the world of rallying. As Fiat's racing department, Abarth prepared the cars that competed in the World Rally Championship. The Fiat 131 Abarth was a huge star, winning the manufacturer's world championship three times in 1977, 1978, and 1980.
Abarth also helped develop other famous rally cars, like the powerful Lancia Rally 037 and the Lancia Delta S4.
Modern Racing
When Abarth was reborn in 2007, it immediately went back to racing. The company entered the Abarth Grande Punto S2000 into the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, winning many races.
More recently, the Abarth 124 Spider has been very successful in the FIA R-GT Cup, a championship for sports cars. Abarth won the championship in 2018, 2019, and 2020, proving that the scorpion spirit is still as strong as ever.
Images for kids
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The Fiat Abarth 750 was a popular sports car.
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The 1955 Abarth 209A Boano Coupe had a unique design.
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Abarth race cars, like this Osella 2000 Sport from 1973.
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The back of a Fiat Abarth 1000, showing its powerful engine.
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See also
- Abarth Simca GT
