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ONE ABARTH 600, 1961
rlo Abarth, quale costruttore Carlo Abarth’s history, as a carmaker, can be said to be
Fiat 600 siano intimamente closely intertwined with that of the Fiat 600. Indeed, be-
di riuscire a consegnare vet- fore going on to supply complete cars, this Austrian engi-
borazione concepite dal tec- neer developed special engines to be combined with the
te alla Fiat 600. underpinnings of the Fiat 600.
nni '50 del secolo scorso, le Indeed, in the mid-1950s, Abarth’s modified engine blocks
o, per un appassionato sen- were the only way an enthusiast without significant finan-
finanziarie, l’unico modo per cial resources could ever hope to drive a spirited car, and
rillante o, addirittura, dispu- perhaps even compete in a race or two. Indeed, it was only
e la Fiat 600 di famiglia è sta- by “souping up” the family Fiat 600 that many would-be
l’unico modo per sperare di racing drivers could hope to embark on a career.
Carlo Abarth is to be credited with identifying this partic-
proprio quello di intuire que- ular niche market which, in a short space of time, thanks
n breve tempo, grazie all'of- to the little “bombs” he built, expanded remarkably, bring-
be" si allargò a dismisura, as- ing his Turin-based company a decade and a half of real
di prosperità alla sua azienda prosperity.
Abarth’s engines had a displacement of 750 cc and, if de-
vano la cilindrata a 750 cc e, sired, could be installed directly in the factory; in 1961, this
montate direttamente in fab- was bumped up to 850 cc to allow cars fitted with them to
compete in their respective touring classes. The road ver-
assò a 850 cc per compete- sion was called the 850 TC (Turismo Competizione), and in
rismo; la versione stradale si 1962 it was joined by the 1000 TC, to allow Abarth’s cars to
Competizione). Nel 1962, ad compete in this displacement class too. The 1000 TC saw
modo da potere competere the engine power increased to 60 HP (from the 52 HP of
di cilindrata. La potenza pas- the 850 TC), a very high rating for a tiny model like the
Fiat 600, and it allowed these cars to turn in performanc-
60 CV della 1000, un valore
u di una vetturetta minusco-
AUTO E MOTO CLASSICHE
Classic motor vehicles
