A STING IN THE TAIL

An extremely rare Fiat-Abarth Sestrière Zagato coupé, a prime example of the Abarth-tuned, carrozzeria-bodied, rear-engined GT competition cars that dominated the smaller capacity classes for a decade from the mid-’50s to mid-’60s. Typically, this Fiat-Abarth Sestrière employs an Abarth-tuned 45bhp Fiat 600 engine, and the model was evocatively named after the Rallye de Sestrière, the Italian round of the European Rally Championship during the 1950s.

This Car's Past

This Fiat-Abarth Sestrière Zagato is in original condition, and has remained in the vendor's family in Southern California for over 50 years. The California ‘pink slip’ Certificate of Title dated February 1964 cities Donald E Thomas of Santa Ana, California, as the registered owner. The car retains its original black California license plate matching the 1964 title, and the consignor believes the indicated mileage of 44,000 to be original. The engine is a period-correct 633cc Fiat 600 block, though it has not been stripped to define the internals. The car was reportedly running as recently as 2010.

History of the Model

European champion motorcycle racer in the 1920s, Carlo Abarth married into Porsche’s inner circle and helped found the Porsche-designed Cisitalia enterprise. Abarth began manufacturing exhaust systems and racing cars in Turin in 1949, eventually selling up to Fiat in 1971. In 1955, Abarth developed a 750cc version of the Fiat 600’s 633cc engine, selling high-performance kits to dealers and specialists to fit stock 600s. He also built complete cars, the best known of which was the lightweight Zagato-bodied Fiat 600 Derivazione 750 Abarth Zagato that debuted at the 1955 Turin Auto show. Early competition successes for this giant-killer included the first three places in the 750cc class in the 1957 Mille Miglia, followed by overall and class victories in the 1958 and 1959 Rallye de Sestrière. Four out of five examples entered finished the Sebring 12-Hours, one of which won its class, while another achieved 2nd place in the SCCA races at Palm Springs. Abarth’s affordable diminutive GT car was ideal for the private entrant, the perfect "drive to track, race, drive home" car, typified by this Fiat-Abarth Sestrière Zagato of 1960.

Preservation

This Fiat-Abarth Sestrière is largely complete and original, with all its rare trim pieces, glass, deliberately Spartan seating and dashboard instrumentation present. Carlo Abarth’s logo was the scorpion – his astrological sign – and the iconic scorpion logo is joined on the car’s flanks by the equally celebrated Z of Zagato, the Italian styling house that created the car’s aluminium bodywork. Though Zagato’s trademark ‘double-bubble’ roof is not present on the Sestrière, the characteristic feature is prominent in the twin-humped engine lid.

Summary

"Untouched for decades, it is now ripe for a sympathetic owner, after which it would be a great contender for contesting historic races and rallies in the spirit of its Sestrière name – such as the Monte Carlo Rallye Historique, whose Turin start passes close to Sestrière en route to The Principality. It is rare and quite remarkable to find a Zagato-bodied Abarth as original and complete as this today, representing a fabulous opportunity to get involved in historic events at an economical level in a really special car."
Johnny Tipler, author, journalist, Porsche specialist