In order to fully appreciate the car-making concept of Abarth, it is important to understand the ingenuity of its founder.
Back in 1949, Italy and other European countries were committed to rebuilding the ruins left by the Second World War. A major driving force behind the reconstruction effort was the passion of individuals, who used the automobile industry as a fertile testing ground for experimenting with new industrial technologies inherited from the war.
Motorsport competitions interrupted by the hostilities were resumed and new racing events emerged, making Sundays the ideal occasion for taking to the tarmac. In hindsight, it was a perfect time to make a name in the automobile business, although at the time, the sole motivation for these motor racing pioneers was to develop winning designs, better performance and technical improvements that would give them an edge over their race rivals.
It was within this historical context, on 31 March 1949, that a young driver transitioned into entrepreneurship by founding Abarth & C. in Bologna. Although the company owes much to co-founder and driver Guido Scagliarini, the real prime mover was Carlo Abarth, who revolutionised automaking in the post-war years with a new concept: tuning. The company logo was formed of a scorpion (Carlo Abarth's star sign) on a red and yellow shield, which is said to be a tribute to Merano, the small town in the province of Bolzano that welcomed Carlo Abarth and his father, saving them from the war. Abarth's history was built on drivers who entered into motorsport legend, 113 records that enabled the Turin-based company to establish itself on the international market and, most importantly, state-of-the-art models such as the Cisitalia 204 A, the Fiat Abarth "750 Record", the Fiat Abarth 124 Rally Gr.4 and the Fiat Abarth 133 Rally world champion.
Sixty-eight years later, the brand with the scorpion badge still upholds the same values that were shaped by its founder: performance, craftsmanship and technical upgrading. It still maintains its links to the past, beginning with the moment when Abarth’s ingenuity first manifested itself on the outskirts of Vienna, where young Carlo liked to challenge older boys in scooter speed races. In his situation, against taller opponents with stronger legs to push off with, anyone else might have resigned themselves to defeat, consoled by the thought that older boys were bound to win because they were bigger. Not Carlo, however. Using his burgeoning ingenuity, he came up with a winning solution by cutting a leather belt to size and wrapping it around the wheels of his scooter to reduce friction with the asphalt.
We like to think that Carlo Abarth recalled that wonderful memory whenever he repeated one of his most famous quotes: "There’s a certain satisfaction in humiliating bigger and more expensive cars with a modest hatchback."
