This car, Lot 109, sold for $47,040, including buyer’s premium, at Bonhams Cars’ Scottsdale, AZ, auction on January 25, 2025.
Lombardi was a coachbuilder that rebodied production cars with special exterior sheet metal of its own design. The most recognized Lombardi Fiat 850-based car was the OTAS 820 Grand Prix (as sold in the U.S. on the East Coast) or the Lombardi Grand Prix (sold on the West Coast). Both are considered by enthusiasts as basically the same car, though East Coast versions are identified by larger round reflectors on their sides, while West Coast cars got smaller lamps.
Lombardi made a few modifications to the basic 850 platform; the most obvious is the placement of the pedals. Since the driver’s seat was moved rearward, Italians (often of smaller stature) could not reach the pedals, and pedal extensions were created. Some taller American buyers with long legs may have modified these back to the stock Fiat location. The 820 used the stock rear-mounted radiator, so most of those cars were retired a long time ago with severe overheating issues.
Why was it called 820 instead of the 850? Starting in 1968, the U.S. revised its small-engine emissions exemption, affecting displacements of 50 ci and greater in imported cars. The 850’s 843-cc displacement was too large for exemption (51.4 ci), so Fiat’s response was to cast a new engine block with 817 cc (49.97 ci). Of course, none of the coachbuilders, like Lombardi, used this block. Instead, they actually sleeved 843-cc blocks down to 817 cc, using unique 64-mm bore pistons. That’s a lot of work just to sell your car in America, but U.S. dollars were big then.
Abarth’s stinger
Abarth’s version of the Lombardi, called “Scorpione,” was an even more limited-production car, as the catalog suggests. I suspect more than a handful of surviving examples are reproductions. Actually, Abarth only made a handful to begin with, so real ones are extra special. While I have not personally measured, I am told that all of the exterior body panels are different. Put an 820 and a Scorpione side by side and you may not notice. On serious inspection, I am told that things become obvious.
The Scorpione came in two versions: “Esse” and “Esse Esse.” Why spell these out in Italian? Because Abarth did exactly that. In 1968 when these cars were introduced, “SS” still had Nazi connotations for Italians. The Esse retained stock Fiat 850 suspension, except with reversed eyelets on the front leaf spring, effectively lowering the front of the car. The Esse Esse had the pinnacle of rear-engine Abarth suspension under it from the final Berlina Corsa TCR race car.
Both versions used Abarth’s 1300/124 engine, derived from Fiat’s then-new 1,197-cc 4-cylinder 124 Berlina. The Fiat engine was a marked evolution of its passenger-car motors, utilizing five-main-bearing crankshafts. Suddenly, engines were robust and very dependable, no matter what your expected use was. Abarth added a few of its own touches, over-boring the cylinders with domed pistons to get 1,280 cc, and using a gear set to replace the timing chain, so that the crankshaft turned counterclockwise and the camshaft still turned clockwise. This in itself was pretty revolutionary. Fiat had designed the 850 to turn counterclockwise to discourage its use in previous cars with conventional rotation.
Abarth also tweaked the camshaft, depending on the application. If using the stock 32 Solex PBIC carburetor (or equivalent Weber 32 DCOF), a much milder camshaft was created than for the Esse Esse version, which specified dual side-draft carburetors of variable sizes, depending on intended use. Abarth also changed the transaxle final drive, as the 850 motor likes a much different RPM range than a stock Fiat 124 unit.
By far, the absolute gem was the 1300/124 Esse Esse. I have examined one that was originally sold by West Coast importer Rich Motors with the fully developed 1300 pushrod engine and dual side-draft carburetors.
The real deal
Our subject car is an Esse by virtue of its modified Fiat 850 suspension instead of Berlina Corse TCR suspension. It was offered from the collection of a knowledgeable and respected Abarth collector. The car, likely a Euro-market example, was restored by a respected Abarth specialist in Belgium before being brought to the U.S.
The restoration appears not to be a top-shelf job, but more like a good freshen-up to condition-3 driver level. One of the emblems shown is not the original enameled item but a later painted unit. That’s all right for a driver, as the enameled emblems often had sections fall out. The steel wheels are one of several variations offered, and I personally prefer these for durability over vintage alloys, which get brittle with age due to their magnesium content.
It has the correct Fiat 1,197-cc block, as supported by the casting numbers, and the Esse-specification engine consisting of one Weber 32 DCOF side-draft carburetor. The Abarth oil pan seems to have been an option and does not detract from the vehicle. It may have been installed by the restorer. It has the correct engine-supporting cradle and the correct reverse-rotation water-pump impeller.
The only non-Abarth part of the 1300/124 “kit” is the bellhousing; it has an aftermarket PBS-designed unit using a VW starter. In the community this is an acceptable period conversion, as the non-original starter makes the car much more reliable. The brakes are those from a Fiat 124 (also X1/9 and Lancia Scorpion), requiring modified brackets in the rear. In my opinion, these are better than the Girling items that the catalog cited, as you can more easily get parts through classic Fiat suppliers.
Rare and sold square
Scorpione sales represent a case of how each example of such a rare car can be so different from another. At the end of the day, originality may win out over modifications, and how well done they are. Or not. The near-$117k price for an Esse Esse sold by Bonhams in 2017 (SCM# 6813212) reflects the rarity and presentation of that particular example.
While I am sure the seller spent much more on this example, given previous transactions of Fiat 850-based Lombardi-bodied cars, the $47k sale price seems right in line. Especially so when considering general inflation since the last $36k sale of a Scorpione Esse on Bring a Trailer in March 2021. The buyer got a great car for a great price that wound up in the middle of the pre-sale estimate range. Remember, in an auction it always comes down to presentation. ♦
