The Fiat-Abarth 750/850 is a series of sporting cars by the Italian firm Abarth & C. of Turin, Italy, in the 1950s and 1960s. The cars used the floorpan of the Fiat 600 but were fitted with Abarth's modified engines. The derivatives were sold as the Fiat-Abarth 850, Fiat-Abarth 1000, and Abarth Monomille (1000 pushrod). Abarth also offered several bodyworks by coachbuilders, mostly Zagato, Allemano, and others.
The Allemano Coupe model was more elegant and comfortable than Zagato's version but heavier and less sporting. In its day, the Abarth Allemano Coupe was very well received but sold in very small numbers. For $3,385, it was in direct price competition with the Porsche Speedster and Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider. In the book The Italian Car Registry by John de Boer, less than 30 of the nearly 600 Abarth 750/850 GT cars listed are Allemano coupes. The exact number built is unknown, but it is generally agreed that the total is less than 200.
The design from Michelloti and adapted by Allemano was presented at the Frankfurt in 1959 and supposedly at the Geneva Motor Show, too. Although it was based on the Fiat 600 floorpan, the Abarth "Scorpione" looked like a "million dollar baby" thanks to its elegantly shaped body. With a longitudinally mounted engine of 833cc (847 on the later S version) and a Weber carburetor, the Allemano "Scorpione" had an output of 52 bhp (and 57 for the S). That, allied with the light body, allowed this rare car to reach 160km/h.
Source: coachbuildpedia.com; www.ultimatecarpage.com
Images: leroux.andre.free.fr; www.bernimotori.com; www.shorey.net
