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It is impossible to speak of Fiat motorsport heritage and not to say a word about Abarth. This small tuning company was founded in April 1949 by Carlo Abarth (1908-1979) and company emblem, a scorpio, was chosen because it was Carlo's zodiac sign. Abarth's intention was to concentrate on racing and motor sports but quite soon he was forced to engage in commercial projects to ensure adequate financing of these other endeavours. In his case, commercial projects meant something as mundane as exhaust pipes.
Exhaust pipes were a success and after initial set-backs, Abarth's racing cars were that too. But big break came in 1955 when Fiat launched the ultimate microcar, the Fiat 600. This car won countless races and coupled with the successor Fiat 850, brought Abarth ever closer to Fiat. Even so that automotive giant finally bought Abarth in 1st of August 1971.
From that moment onwards, Abarth was to Fiat Group what current Peugeot Sport is to Peugeot, an in-house tuning shop closely knit with Fiat research and development. It is important to note that Fiat Group did not mean only Fiat but also Lancia, another giant of rallying. Abarth had their hand in making of such classic rally cars as Fiat 124 and 131, Lancia Stratos, 037 and various Deltas.
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