Fiat - Abarth
kfz-tech.de/YFi224
That's exactly how we remember it: as a Fiat 600 with the tailgate propped up and an additional, covered radiator at the front. Everything was designed by Carlo Abarth and his company
starting in 1949 so that the car could be modified.
So there is no 1000 TC from the factory, but you hand in your 600 and get it back as an Abarth. Presumably, you can still choose how extensive the modifications go. Considering today's
examples, it's quite far.
Take the engine, for example. If you compare its output with that of a Fiat 600, you'll start to wonder, especially since the TÜV (German technical inspection) was even stricter back then than it
is today. You weren't even allowed to move the exterior mirror.
And then driving through the village at night with the tailgate open and the engine at full throttle—that could get loud. And especially inside. Longer stretches on the highway were obviously
only possible with earplugs, the gear ratios in 4th gear were so short.
Apparently there is also an option for a fifth gear. It wouldn't be surprising, though, if it's used for closer gear ratios rather than a gear spread. And that's on a transmission with an
unsynchronized first gear.
Of course, the 'old' engine with its triple-bearing crankshaft is still there. Is it new, or is the two-millimeter longer stroke achieved through clever trimming? In any case, the limits are being
pushed to the extreme.
There are versions with up to 65 kW (89 hp) at 8,000 rpm, with a compression ratio of 10:1. And that's with an engine with a bottom-mounted camshaft, which we once learned stops at 7,000 rpm.
Almost 100 Nm of torque are possible there, albeit at incredibly high revs.
The fact that the engine block can even cope with a 14 mm larger bore is nothing short of a miracle. We can only conclude that they're obviously working to the limits of wear and tear. The question
remains whether this was TÜV-compliant in the past and what the racing versions can do even more.
Here's the sound of one. The technology described above is also installed in an Abarth 1000 GT Coupé, so it can't really have been constantly failing in an expensive vehicle. And the maximum speed of 200 km/h has
probably already been utilized.
Of course, the whole thing started very early with significantly less additional power, curiously enough on vehicles with suicide doors that had been drilled into many times to reduce weight. But already
with larger rims than the 12-inch ones and due to thinning flared fenders.
Later, from around 1970 onward, there wereadded flares and 14-inch wheels. The rear hood was replaced with a plastic part. Abarth then became well-known in Europe as a manufacturer of exhaust systems. They were
probably the first to have slowly tapered pipes.
There are also front-engined vehicles, such as the Abarth 205 Coupé based on the Fiat 2300. But rear-engined cars can also be fitted with engines from other manufacturers, or larger ones from the Fiat Group. Our favorite
is the Abarth Simca, with 1300 or 2000 cm3, for example.
Wikipedia attributes up to 600 race and class victories to Abarth annually, naturally mostly in the smaller displacement cars. However, these are also increasing in the racing world, resulting in fewer successes in this area.
In 1971, the company was acquired by Fiat, and previous competition was avoided.
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