Tradiçao Abarth

JorgeMonteiro

JorgeMonteiro

...o do "Boguinhas"
Membro do staff
Premium
Portalista
Uma boa altura para desenterrar este assunto


70 years of Abarth, 40th anniversary of Carlo Abarth’s death
70 Years of Abarth
​
Carlo Abarth in the winner's wreath
Photo: Artur Fenzlau/Technisches Museum Wien
​
70 Years of Abarth
​
Fiat 500 Abarth
Photo courtesy of Hans Egli
​
70 Years of Abarth
​
Inauguration of the Via Carlo Abarth in Turin, 2019
Photo: Auto-Medienportal.Net/FCA
​
70 Years of Abarth
​
Grave of Carlo Abarth, Grinzinger Cemetery
Photo courtesy of Hedwig Abraham


​
Double Anniversary of the “Scorpion”!
2019 is a very special year for Abarth fans: 70 years ago, Vienna-born Carlo Abarth (originally baptised under the name of Karl) founded his own company Abarth & C. SRL on November 15, 1908. The release of this newsletter almost exactly coincides with the 40th anniversary of the death of this highly gifted racing pioneer. This is a perfect reason for the Axel Gerstl team to look back at Carlo Abarth’s big career under the banner of the “scorpion,” both his zodiac sign and his trade mark.
Since his early childhood, Carlo Abarth had been thrilled by speed, engines, and engineering. At the age of 16 already, right after the end of World War I, he cut his teeth in motor sports and racing as a motorcycle mechanic and racing cyclist. His time had come when one of the drivers of the Motor Thun motorcycle racing team dropped out and he had to step in. He did nothing short of consequently seizing his chance. In this first professional racing stint, he stunned the competition, being faster than all other drivers of his team and setting the best qualifying time.
Building on this experience, Carlo Abarth founded his first own team in 1928, but was also successful as a design engineer, among others, with a modified motorcycle combination which, for the first time, allowed tilting when rounding curves. He rode it in 1934 in the spectacular, well-noticed Ostend-Vienna race against the legendary Orient Express train – where he won!
After the end of his career as an active motorcycle racer, which he had to abandon due to various accidents and knee problems resulting from them, Carlo Abarth, together with Ferry Porsche, among others, took over the sports department of the Italian car manufacturer Cisitalia. World War II was just over. In 1949, he decided to become independent and founded Abarth & C. SRL in Bologna, together with Armando Scagliarini. The company soon moved to Torino, the traditional centre of the automobile industry in Italy, to be at the heart of the action.
When Cisitalia finally became insolvent and went bankrupt, Carlo Abarth once again did not hesitate long and integrated the racing team, under the new name of Squadra Carlo Abarth, into his company. This marked the beginning of an unparalleled success story involving numerous race victories and records achieved by the Squadra Carlo Abarth under the banner of the scorpion, and the inception of the perennial Abarth myth. Soon, the name "Abarth" became synonymous with "speed", "courage" and "performance".
However, his biggest achievements as a designing engineer came from his car tuning work for various Fiat, Simca, and Alfa Romeo models. He managed to turn them into racing cars and provided these models with improved exhaust systems and accessories, such as dual-barrel carburettors, special steering wheels and chassis components, making him a celebrated trailblazer of the entire car tuning industry. Especially the models based on Fiat 500 cars were extremely popular among racing enthusiasts, ranging from the Fiat Abarth 595 with 27hp to the 695 SS Corsa with more than 40hp. Before that, he had already tried himself at a sports variant of the Fiat 600: the Abarth 750 GT which earned him various records in 1956, including a new 24-hours record on the Monza circuit (3,700km at an average speed of 155km/h).
By the end of the 1960ies, the motor sport industry experienced an increasing pressure on costs and the sales of tuning parts decreased noticeably. So, it was with a heavy heart that Carlo Abarth decided to sell his company to Fiat in 1971. After that, he returned to Vienna, the city of his birth. However, he still worked as an advisor for Fiat when he died on October 23 (or 24*) October 1979. Today, a street in Merano, one of Carlo Abarth’s first places of activity, is named after him. And, just in time for the 70th anniversary of the foundation of his company, and the 40th anniversary of this death, finally even Torino, the city where he recorded his greatest achievements, honours the famous race driver and car builder with a very special act. Now the Mirafiori quarter, close to the current headquarters of the Abarth company, is also graced with a street that bears his name: Via Carlo Abarth.
* The various sources deviate from each other when it comes to finally dating the day of his death: while the German and Italian Wikipedia articles and his tombstone indicate October 23, 1979, the Carlo Abarth Foundation, run by Carlo Abarth’s last wife, and the English and French Wikipedia articles state October 24, 1979.

Fonte: Newsletter 174 - Fiat 500 126 600 Spare parts | Axel Gerstl
 
Última edição:
Deve entrar na sua conta ou fazer registar-se para responder.
Topo