'What Is The Difference Between Abarth And Fiat?'
By Sam - GarageDreams.net - November 27, 2020
If you are familiar with Fiat, or even European sports/performance cars in general, then you have probably come across the term “Abarth”.
In 20th Century Italy, Abarth became synonymous with strong and fast (Italians would ask for an “Abarth coffee” for example).
Abarth owners will generally swear by their cars and be very enthusiastic about them. Even Doug “Quirks and Features” Demuro is a fan:
A Used Fiat 500 Abarth Is the Most Fun You Can Have For $9,000
Abarth has always been a fairly niche proposition, so what exactly is the difference between Abarth and Fiat?
In this short edition of Car Facts, we take a look at the differences between Fiat and Abarth.
The History Of Abarth
Abarth was founded in 1949 by Carlo Abarth, who had always had a passion for Motorsport and vehicles since a young age.
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| Carlo Abarth with some of his weird and wonderful racing creations |
In its early days, Abarth produced both custom vehicles built for racing (starting with the 204 A Roadster based on the Fiat 1100) as well as producing tuning kits for existing vehicles to improve their power and performance.
A big breakthrough for Abarth came in 1958, when Fiat released the original 500.
Abarth developed a modified version (the ‘595’ – as per the modern 500 Abarth, and later the 695) that had substantially more power and performance prowess.
This is perhaps Abarth’s most famous creation.
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Over the following years, Abarth continued to develop and release performance kits as well as their own race cars and modified variants.
con't....
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Yesterday I parked next to a little Abarth hatchback, although I didn't notice it until I had already parked. Small and sightly, it had the old Abarth scorpion logo. As the article, which I couldn't publish in full, went on to state... Abarth is a subsidiary of Fiat. It can be ambiguous, as some cars can have the Abarth logo but not be a genuine Abarth. The old days of an automobile manufacturer being associated with a city, or additionally even a heritage, now it all to the highest bidder. However, Abarth is still headquartered in Turn as it has been since 1949.
Abarth 595 hatchback review - pictures
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Abarth & C. S.p.A. (pronounced [ˈabart]) is an Italian racing and road car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its FCA Italy S.p.A. division. Its logo is a shield with a stylized scorpion on a yellow and red background.
Type: Subsidiary (S.p.A.)
Industry: Automotive
Founded: March 31, 1949; 72 years ago
Founder: Carlo Abarth
Headquarters: Turin, Italy
Area served: EMEA
Key people: Olivier François, CEO; Alfredo Altavilla, COO
Owner: Stellantis
Parent: FCA Italy S.p.A.
Website: www.abarth.com
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