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Abarth & C. S.p.A.

Type	Subsidiary (S.p.A.)
Industry	Automotive
Founded	31 March 1949; 76 years ago (1949-03-31)
Founder	Carlo Abarth
Headquarters	Turin , Italy 45°03′39″N 7°35′28″E / 45.0608762°N 7.591101°E / 45.0608762; 7.591101
Area served	Europe Africa Asia Oceania
Key people	Olivier François, CEO Alfredo Altavilla, COO
Owner	Stellantis
Parent	Stellantis Europe

Abarth & C. S.p.A. (pronounced ah-bart) is an Italian company. It makes special racing and road cars. Abarth also creates high-performance versions of regular cars. It was started by Carlo Abarth in 1949. Today, Abarth is owned by Stellantis, a big car company. The Abarth logo is a shield with a scorpion on a yellow and red background.

History of Abarth

Abarth & C. is Born (1949)

The 1950 205A, one of the first Abarth cars.

Carlo Abarth was a sports director for a racing team called Cisitalia in 1947. When Cisitalia closed down, Carlo Abarth took over some of its parts and cars. On March 31, 1949, he started his own company, Abarth & C., in Bologna, Italy. Carlo chose the scorpion as his company's logo because it was his astrological sign.

Abarth got five sports cars and other parts from Cisitalia. He renamed the cars Abarth Cisitalia 204A. Abarth then built and raced many sports cars based on these. Famous drivers like Tazio Nuvolari raced for Abarth. Tazio Nuvolari even won a race in an Abarth 204A in 1950.

Besides racing, Abarth also made and sold special parts. These parts helped cars from companies like Fiat and Lancia go faster. They made things like special exhaust pipes.

In 1951, Abarth moved its main office to Turin. Abarth started working closely with Fiat in 1952. They built the Abarth 1500 Biposto using parts from Fiat cars.

In 1957, Abarth made a deal with Fiat. Fiat would pay Abarth for every successful race finish. This led Abarth to enter their cars in many races around the world. They raced in events like hillclimbing and sports-car races. Abarth cars often competed in classes for engines from 850cc to 2000cc. They even raced against famous cars like the Porsche 904.

Abarth was so good that he once promised a driver, Johann Abt, a free factory car if he won all his races. Abt almost did it! He won 29 out of 30 races and came second once. Johann Abt later started his own racing team, Abt Sportsline.

The Abarth 595, based on the Fiat 500.

Abarth became known for making high-performance exhaust pipes. They also made tuning kits to make regular cars faster. These kits were mostly for Fiat cars. Abarth even made a special exhaust for Lambretta motorcycles in the 1950s. This helped Lambretta set several speed records.

Abarth also worked with other car makers like Porsche and Simca to build sports and racing cars.

Fiat Takes Over (1971)

Carlo Abarth sold his company to Fiat on July 31, 1971. Fiat wasn't interested in Abarth's racing team. So, a man named Enzo Osella took over the racing operations. He got the cars, parts, and drivers. Osella then started his own racing team, Osella. This meant Abarth stopped making special racing prototypes and hillclimb cars.

Under Fiat's ownership, Abarth became Fiat's official racing department. They prepared Fiat's rally cars. Famous examples include the Fiat 124 Abarth Rally and 131 Abarth.

Later, in 1977, Fiat combined Abarth's racing team with Lancia's racing team. This new group developed successful race cars. They created the Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo which won championships. They also made the Lancia Rally 037 rally car. This car helped Lancia win the World Rally Championship in 1983.

On October 1, 1981, Abarth & C. officially stopped being a separate company. It became a part of Fiat's sports division.

During this time, some Fiat cars were given the Abarth name. These were usually performance versions. For example, the Autobianchi A112 Abarth was a small, fast car. It was popular with young drivers. In the 1980s, the Abarth name was used for powerful cars like the Fiat Ritmo Abarth 125/130 TC. In the 2000s, Abarth became a special trim level for cars like the Fiat Stilo Abarth.

Abarth is Reborn (2007)

On February 1, 2007, Abarth was brought back as its own company. It was still fully owned by Fiat. The first new models were the Abarth Grande Punto and the Abarth Grande Punto S2000. Abarth is now based in a part of the old Mirafiori factory.

In 2017, Abarth worked with Yamaha to create a special motorcycle. It was a limited-edition bike called the XSR900 Abarth.

Abarth Cars

Abarth has made many different cars over the years. Some were completely new designs, while others were faster versions of existing Fiat cars.

Current Models

Abarth currently makes these cars:

500	New 500e	Pulse	Fastback
Type: Small city car Styles: 3-door hatchback or convertible Made since: 2008	Type: Electric small city car Styles: 3-door hatchback or convertible Made since: 2023	Type: Small SUV Style: 5-door hatchback Made since: 2022	Type: Small SUV with a coupe shape Style: 5-door coupe SUV Made since: 2023

Cars Made by Abarth

Abarth has created many unique cars and special versions of other cars.

Standalone Models (Original Designs)

These cars had their own unique bodywork designed by Abarth:

Abarth Cisitalia 204A
Abarth 205A Berlinetta
Abarth 207A Spyder Corsa Boano
Abarth 208A Spyder 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 750
Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato
Fiat-Abarth 750 Spider Allemano
Fiat-Abarth 1000 OTR Berlinetta Bertone
Abarth OT 1300
Abarth Monomille

Fiat Variant Models

These are performance versions of Fiat cars, tuned by Abarth:

Fiat-Abarth 500
Fiat-Abarth 595 SS
Fiat-Abarth 695 SS
Fiat-Abarth 850 TC
Fiat-Abarth 1000 TC (based on the Fiat 600)
Fiat Abarth 1000 TCR Berlina
Fiat-Abarth OT1000
Fiat Abarth OTR 1000
Fiat-Abarth OT1600
Fiat-Abarth OT 2000 Competition Coupé
Fiat-Abarth 2200
Fiat-Abarth 2400
Fiat Ritmo 125/130 TC Abarth
Fiat Abarth 124 Rally
Fiat 131 Abarth Rally

Other Variant Models

Abarth also made special versions of cars from other brands:

Abarth Simca 1300 GT
Abarth Simca 2000 – coupé
Alfa Romeo Abarth 2000 Coupe
Porsche 356 B Carrera GTL Abarth
Abarth Grand Prix/Scorpione
Lancia Rally 037
Autobianchi A112 Abarth

Cars with Abarth Badges (Not Produced by Abarth)

Some cars used the Abarth name for a sporty trim level, but Abarth didn't build them:

Cars Produced by Abarth & C. S.p.A. (Since 2007)

These are the models made since Abarth became an independent unit again:

Abarth 500 / Fiat 500 Abarth (NA)
Abarth 595
Abarth 695
Abarth Grande Punto
Abarth Punto Evo
Abarth 124 Spider / Fiat 124 Spider Abarth (NA)
Fiat Abarth Punto
Abarth Pulse
Abarth Fastback

Cars with Abarth Tuning

These cars were tuned by Abarth to have better performance:

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 with Abarth Involvement (Other Manufacturers)

Abarth helped other companies with their car designs:

Lancia Delta S4 for Group B racing. Abarth helped design its special engine.

Cars Produced Under Fiat Corse – N Technology (Named Abarth)

These rally cars were prepared by Fiat's racing division, sometimes using the Abarth name:

Motorsport

Abarth has a rich history in motorsports, especially in rally racing. They have competed in many championships with their high-performance cars.

Rally Racing

Abarth has competed in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) with their Fiat Grande Punto Abarth S2000 car. Here are some of their results:

Year	Car	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	DC	Points	MC	Points
2007	Fiat Grande Punto Abarth S2000	Andrea Navarra	KEN 1	TUR 2	BEL 3	RUS 4	POR Ret	CZE 7	ITA 10	SWI Ret	CHI				3rd	32	2nd	90
		Umberto Scandola	KEN Ret	TUR	BEL 5	RUS	POR	CZE	ITA 4	SWI 3	CHI				6th	15
		Anton Alén	KEN	TUR 4	BEL	RUS 1	POR	CZE Ret	ITA	SWI	CHI				7th	15
		Giandomenico Basso	KEN	TUR	BEL	RUS	POR 1	CZE	ITA 2	SWI	CHI				5th	18
2008	Fiat Grande Punto Abarth S2000	Giandomenico Basso	TUR Ret	POR 4	BEL 6	RUS 3	POR 2	CZE Ret	ESP 1	ITA 1	SWI 5	CHI			3rd	32	2nd	74
		Anton Alén	TUR 3	POR Ret	BEL 11	RUS 2	POR	CZE Ret	ESP 6	ITA 8	SWI 6	CHI			5th	21
		Umberto Scandola	TUR	POR	BEL	RUS	POR 7	CZE	ESP	ITA Ret	SWI Ret	CHI			28th	2
		Renato Travaglia	TUR	POR	BEL	RUS	POR	CZE	ESP	ITA 4	SWI	CHI			6th*	19*
		Alessio Pissi	TUR	POR	BEL	RUS	POR	CZE	ESP	ITA 13	SWI	CHI			-	0
		Andrea Navarra	TUR	POR	BEL	RUS	POR	CZE	ESP	ITA Ret	SWI	CHI			-	0
2009	Fiat Grande Punto Abarth S2000	Giandomenico Basso	MON 5	BRA 3	KEN	POR Ret	BEL 8	RUS 3	POR 1	CZE Ret	ESP 8	ITA	SCO		5th	28	4th	43
		Anton Alén	MON Ret	BRA Ret	KEN	POR 14	BEL	RUS 7	POR	CZE	ESP	ITA	SCO		34th	3
		Luca Rossetti	MON Ret	BRA	KEN	POR	BEL	RUS	POR Ret	CZE 10	ESP	ITA 2	SCO		10th	8
		Bernd Casier	MON	BRA	KEN	POR	BEL 14	RUS	POR	CZE	ESP	ITA	SCO		-	0
		Miguel Fuster	MON	BRA	KEN	POR	BEL	RUS	POR	CZE	ESP Ret	ITA	SCO		-	0
		Umberto Scandola	MON	BRA	KEN	POR	BEL	RUS	POR	CZE	ESP	ITA 11	SCO		-	0
		François Duval	MON	BRA	KEN	POR	BEL	RUS	POR	CZE	ESP	ITA Ret	SCO		-	0
2010	Fiat Grande Punto Abarth S2000	Luca Rossetti	MON	BRA	ARG	CAN	ITA	BEL	AZO	MAD	CZE	ITA 5	SCO	CYP	22nd	4	6th	6
2010	Fiat Grande Punto Abarth S2000	Giandomenico Basso	MON	BRA	ARG	CAN	ITA	BEL	AZO	MAD	CZE	ITA 7	SCO	CYP	36th	2	6th	6