Abarth and Company, a name that was to become synonymous with highly tuned specialist cars based on Fiat mechanical components, opened for business in 1949, manufacturing high-performance mufflers. A year later, Carlo Abarth’s genius for obtaining amazing horsepower from tiny engines became evident with his modifications on the then-new Fiat 600.
Abarths earned class victories in the Mille Miglia, and in America they saw class wins at such events as Lime Rock, Sebring, Nassau and Daytona.
Meanwhile, in a parallel development, the famous coachbuilder Francis Lombardi developed a handsome coupe body in very limited numbers. Carlo Abarth was quick to determine that the combination of the pretty Lombardi body and his amazingly potent engines would make an excellent combination.
Abarth accordingly secured a number of bodies, with the resulting car being designated the OTAS Abarth Scorpione. With its Kamm tail, sloping hood and pop-up headlights, the Abarth Scorpione is an extremely unusual and distinctive car.
The particular car featured here is chassis number 47. It is preserved in extremely original, low-mileage condition, having had just two California owners from new.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1971 OTAS Grand Prix |
| Years Produced: | 1961-70 |
| Number Produced: | 100 |
| Original List Price: | $4,495 (1970) |
| Tune Up Cost: | $150 |
| Distributor Caps: | $600-$800 |
| Chassis Number Location: | Engine bulkhead |
| Engine Number Location: | Intake side of block |
| Club Info: | Gerald Rothman, Abarth Register, 54 School STreet Suite 102, Westbury, NY 11590-4469 |
| Alternatives: | Fiat 850 Racer, Fiat Abarth TC, SAAB Sonett, a tricycle |
The car pictured here sold, as Lot 401, at the RM Auction in Monterey, California on August 19, 2000 for $7,150.
The description above from the RM Monterey catalog, of an OTAS Abarth Scorpione, is reasonably correct. However, the car that crossed the block was not a Scorpione, but rather an OTAS Grand Prix when marketed here or an OTAS GT elsewhere in the world. It was conceived by Francis Lombardi in 1967 as an alternative to Carlo Abarth’s line.
Unfortunately, Lombardi, who had a successful body repair business in Torino and fancied himself a “carrozziere,” was certainly not an engineer. He took a standard Fiat 850 platform and slapped on it a heavy steel body of his design. The 820cc Fiat engine was left in its stock form, producing about 42 hp. Curiously, RM’s description lists the horsepower as 85; I would like to know the miracle maker who tuned this engine!
Lombardi’s progeny weighed about 2,000 pounds; its strongest selling point must have been a guarantee to the buyer that he could never get a speeding ticket while driving the Grand Prix. But that was just a minor point in OTAS Grand Prix woes. The standard 850 radiator (marginally adequate at best) was left in its original position at the rear. Encapsulated by a new body which restricted the air flow, it produced a small geyser after a few minutes of running. Even Rich Motors of Pasadena, California, which specialized in strange Italian cars, had difficulty selling the Grand Prix. But that shortly became an academic question, as in 1968 the newly formed EPA was fully operational, and the OTAS Grand Prix became one of its first victims. Since only a handful were made, and fewer imported, this was not a tragedy of Olympian proportions.
John Rich of Rich Motors, the Abarth maven west of the Mississippi, liked the sleek and modern lines of the unfortunate OTAS Grand Prix. By now, DOT had joined EPA in creating importation hurdles. With Rich’s matchmaking, Carlo Abarth undertook the task to make the car formerly known as the OTAS Grand Prix comply with government rules.
This event has a great historical significance. It marks the first ever EPA and DOT conversion. While he was at it, Abarth punched the engine up to 903cc (52 hp!) and moved the radiator to the front where the air flow was better, or at least existed. The car was still slow, but at least it could be driven on the freeway without being a moving chicane.
As is often the case, one thing led to another, and Abarth adapted the body design. By 1969, the Fiat Abarth Scorpione
1300 was born. From ten feet or so away, the new Abarth looked exactly like Lombardi’s stillborn effort, but in many respects it was a different car—fun to drive and relatively trouble free. The new engine, a tried and true Fiat 124 1280cc pushrod unit, produced a whopping 75 hp. The radiator remained in front. The body and support structures were made
lighter, and the new Abarth weighed “only” 1,600 pounds. It also had slightly wider wheels and tires.
While it was not a double-A fuel dragster in the acceleration department, and equally cursed in handling by the standard 850 suspension (a transverse leaf spring in front, puny brakes and such), it was cute and fun to drive. By 1970 the same model, with an “SS” added (100 hp, twin Webers, disc brakes, and all-Abarth suspension), was available for sale, and it was a real pocket rocket. . .but I am getting away from Lot 401.
The car auctioned at Monterey was a very decent example. The original paint was heavily patinated (which means badly faded; pastel colors were prone to that), the panel fit was very good, the interior acceptable, and surprisingly, there were no obvious signs of rust. In short, it was a nifty little private in the army of very rare and very insignificant automotive never-has-beens. Was it worth $7,150? Any day of the week. After all, you can proclaim that you own the very first model rejected by the EPA. The bragging rights alone are worth seven grand.—Raymond D. Milo