1963 Fiat 750/850 Abarth Berlina

Lack of records makes it very difficult to tell a factory Abarth from one built by Uncle Giorgio’s Garage

by Donald Osborne

(Note: In the auction catalog, there was an addendum that declared that this particular car was in fact a Fiat 750 rather than an 850. As its model year was appropriate for an 850, we can only assume that an earlier 750 engine had been retrofitted. The historical information about the 850 model presented by the auction company is correct and we have not changed it. Where the auction company refers to this particular car, we have changed the nomenclature from 850 to 850/750. As indicated in Osborne’s analysis of this sale, this type of alteration has minimal effect on the value of the car.—ED.)

Fiat and Carlo Abarth have such a convoluted history, it’s hard to believe joint planning didn’t take place at conspiratorial “Godfather” dinners in some restaurant wine cellar. This story is no exception. Fiat debuted the “D” version of the 600 in the beginning of 1960, shortly after Abarth began designing the 850 with grand touring competition in mind....