2019 is an important year for Abarth, the Italian brand dedicated to performance cars. As it turns 70, still fuels the dreams of fans worldwide. Abarth & C was founded by Carlo Abarth and racing driver Guido Scagliarini on 31 March 1949 in Bologna, Northern Italy.
To acknowledge this incredible milestone, all Abarth 595’s produced from April 2019 will be identified by a “70th Anniversary” special badge. The 595 Competizione standard seats will also be embroidered with a ‘70th Anniversary’ logo, making this specification one for Abarth fans to own (from 10 April).
Making its return in 2019 is the Abarth 595 esseesse which made its debut at the recent Geneva Motorshow and will shortly be on sale in the UK with pricing announced soon.
The Abarth badge appeared on a small number of Fiat special editions in the 1980’s and 1990’s including the Strada and Stilo.
In 2008 the brand was relaunched with a new line-up created for motorsports enthusiasts with the Abarth Grande Punto (2007), Abarth 500 (2008) and tuning kits for each car, as well as racing versions of the Abarth Grande Punto Rally Super 2000 and the Abarth 500 Assetto Corse. Since then, new editions have been launched: the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari (2010), the Abarth 595 Yamaha Factory Racing (2015), the Abarth 695 Biposto Record (2015) and the Abarth 695 Rivale (2017). In 2016 the Abarth 124 spider and the Abarth 124 rally joined the model line-up, followed by the Abarth 124 GT (2018) with its carbon fibre hard top.
The brand’s fan base is expanding across Europe, with nearly 110,000 members now registered to the Abarth ‘Scorpionship’ community. The official club started in 2016 and quickly grew in numbers as owners, fans and regional clubs signed up to be kept informed of the latest information about all things Abarth. In 2018, over 1,000 owners, fans and enthusiasts joined the brand for one day at Rockingham to immerse themselves in Abarth and celebrate their passion for the brand at the annual Abarth Day.
