Abarth 205A Berlinetta

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The history of a car that put Abarth on a map yet is not so well known

This is the history of the Italian muscle car, the 1950 Abarth 205-A Berlinetta, built by the famous coach builder Vignale which was founded and run by designer Giovanni Michelotti in Turin. There were a total of 3 car ever made between 1950 and 1951. This writeup focuses more on the history of Abarth and the journey of the car rather than technical specifications.

About Carlo Abarth and the company

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Pronounced as “eh-Barth” it was founded by Carlo Abarth an Austrian, born in 1908 with the natural ability in mechanics he would find his way in motorcycle racing. The man was a legend as he won 5 world championships with no backing, just him and his own tools. Like many others he would decide that motorcycle racing was equal to death. By the year 1939 a fatal accident would close the racing chapter in his life, this was also the start of his legacy in the automotive industry. His first car would be known as the Cistalia 360 a car developed along with Porsche. On the 31^st of March 1949 Abarth & Co was formed - Abarth and Armando Scagliarini, and the logo was the zodiac sign of Carlos. The company had a unique exhaust design, soon enough a lot of manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo and Ferraris would use. However, the company that would forever fit the Scorpion brand would be fiat. He started building his own cars after the company he was working for called Cisitalia went bankrupt. He continued racing their cars while developing his own. The 205A would be his first production car and it mimicked the 204A Berlinetta.

About Giovanni Michelotti

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A famous Italian designer who was unfortunately overshadowed by the likes of Marcello Gandini, Nuccio Bertone, and Giorgetto Giugiaro. In his career path he saw himself working as an apprentice at Farina, he would then open up his own design studio in 1959. He designed some the most beautiful looking cars such as the Lancia Aurelia B25, Maserati A6 and the Abarth 205A. “One year at the Turin Motor Show I had more than thirty cars on display on various different stands. They carried the signatures of different coachbuilders and I was not allowed to say that I had done them all”.

About the car and what makes it so special

To start things of, there are only three Abarth 205A-Berlinetas ever made with the chassis number 205101, 205102, and 205103. The second car was a race car and took part in many of the races back in the day such as the Mille Miglia and it did very well considering it was up against the Alfa’s and Ferrari’s.

The first 2 were driven by a 1.1-litre Fiat engine, and the last was driven by a 1.3-litre Alfa Twin-cam engine. The third car was completed in 1951 and was more luxurious than the first two which were used in many racing events. The first two cars were fitted with a fiat sourced four-cylinder engine, with the Abarth tuning kit. It consisted of a revised intake manifold, two Weber carburetors and a bespoke

exhaust, the tiny 1089cc engine produced a remarkable 83 bhp, the transmission was also a four-speed taken from a Fiat. When the company Cistalia went bankrupt Abarth &co acquired six 204 tubular structures, the chassis number 101 debuted in the Coppa Inter-Europa, and then took part in many of the other races such as the Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and many more. The last car was built mainly for luxury and not racing, the car was finished and displayed at the Turin motor show, it was fitted with a slightly larger engine and was just the most beautiful car to look at.

What made the car so special apart from the close to zero production volume was its appearance, it was one of the most proportionate cars to be designed with clean lines which flow in a uniform manner. All three cars are still present. The cars body lines flow without any interruption of unnecessary vents or trim pieces. There were totally three ever made however there was a fourth one which wore the Ghia Body and was mainly a show car, this car debuted in the 1953 Turin auto show. One of the cars was damaged in a garage fire and later on had a full concourse level restoration with all the functional parts remaining the same, all the original parts which was offered by Abarth themselves. This particular car happened to be Carlo Abarth’s personal car.

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This was the car that was restored 

The third car was sold but with some amount of difficulty as it was priced quite high almost as much as some of the Ferrari’s from that era, this however should never be something that drives people away from such a significant car. The main driving force behind the exorbitant price tag would be the passion for racing, in fact the Abarth would soon cease all his racing operations and move to building exhaust systems and some cars as well.  Most of the cars were fiat cars fitted with Abarth kits to make more power and to make it more performance oriented.

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Abarth 205A Berlinetta #205102 (Vignale), 1950 - Mille Miglia

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In my opinion the Abarth 205A Berlinetta looks better than a Ferrari 250 short wheel base, yes, I know this is not how many people feel but the 205A Berlinetta is just that much more special considering it is the first car Abarth ever made.

I personally feel the 205A looks better than the 250 SWB Ferrari