1960 Abarth 750 GT Zagato Sestriere Coupe

Karl Abarth (later becoming Carlo Abarth) built high-efficiency exhaust systems during the 1930s, later building various other performance parts for Italian cars. After World War II, he became the Italian distributor for Porsche. He connected Ferrary Porsche with Piero Dusio of Cisitalia, and soon after, the Type 360 Grand Prix racer project emerged. A short time later, Cisitalia was forced into bankruptcy. As a consultant to the company, Abarth was awarded most of the assets of Cisitalia as payment for his work. He developed the last of the Cisitalia chassis as Abarths. He later turned to building original Fiat-based cars, hitting his stride when the Fiat 600 of 1955 was launched. He offered tuning parts for the Fiat 600, later creating an enlarged 750cc version of the 633cc engine, selling derivazione high-performance kits to dealers and garages which could be installed into stock 600s.

Carlo Abarth also built complete cars in his factory. Among the more memorable examples were the Zagato-bodied competition cars. At the 1955 Turin Auto Show, Abarth introduced the Fiat 600 Derivazione 750 Abarth Zagato. It began its racing career a year later, quickly establishing itself as a solid competitor in European events. At the 1957 Mille Miglia, the Abarths swept the first three places in the 750cc class.

Abarth secured a sponsor partnership deal with Fiat where he was paid for every win or second place a 'Fiat-Abarth' scored.

The 'Sestriere' cars were a special model that was bodied by carrozzeria Zagato and had upright fixed headlights and was normally built using steel, with two prominent air scoops atop the tail for better engine cooling. The Sestriere model received its name after the Rallye de Sestriere, one of Europe's most grueling annual Alpine rally events.

This Fiat-Abarth Sestriere Zagato has been in the care of the current family for some 50 years. It has resided in Southern California since it was gifted to the current owner's stepfather by his father in the early 1960s.

Currently, the car is complete with the original trim pieces, glass, interior components, bumpers, and more. The original fuel tank and chassis data plate are missing. The odometer shows just under 44,000 miles, which is believed to be original to the car. The engine appears to be a period-correct 633cc Fiat 600 block with unknown internals. The engine is an overhead valve 4-cylinder unit fitted with a single Weber carburetor and is believed to produce 43.5 horsepower. There is a four-speed manual transmission, 4-wheel drum brakes, and an independent suspension.

By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2014