Abarth 205 Vignale Berlinetta

Only a few years after Carlo Abarth joined Piero Dusio to repair it with his badly bearing Cisitalia, the Austro-Italian jumped in addition to boat of descent in March of 1949. The old runner of motor bike took with three achieved 204 to him the runners type of sports and two frames of bearing as well as best engineers of a certain number of company. It was the evolution of Cisitalia relatively successful 202 series. Although Abarth specialized by building the kits of agreement of exhaust, it was an occasion splendid to set up a company of car of its clean.

Throughout the year the 204 cars were modified to the extent that they were renamed Abarth 204A. The two chassis were also completed over the winter and equipped with a coupe coachwork constructed by Vignale. The design was based on sketches by Giovanni Michelotti and then turned into a complete design by Alfredo Vignale. It sported the familiar three round vents in the front wings seen on many Vignale designs of the era. Power came from the sturdy, but tiny Fiat four cylinder engine, of course equipped with an Abarth tuning kit.

Although internally referred to as a 204A, the first of the two completed cars was numbered 205101. Abarth made its debut as a manufacturer at the 1950 Turin Motorshow with the new Vignale Berlinetta as the stand's centre piece. Both Berlinettas were raced throughout the season by the Abarth team and recorded several victories. Carlo Abarth liked the small tin-top so much that he had himself made a road car along the same design, which was referred to as the 205, a name that was later also given to the two racing cars.

While the second racing car has had a very colourful life in which it was modified to the extent that an Alfa Romeo twin-cam engine was fitted in 1964, the featured 205101 lived a relatively peaceful life after its retirement from active service. That was until tragedy struck in 1981 when during a fire a ceiling failed covering the delicate Berlinetta in rubble and a 1911 Overland. All seemed to be lost until the current owner salvaged the remains of the Abarth in 1984 and commenced with a ground up restoration.

Damaged both by the ceiling and heat, it would have been understable that most of the body was discarded. Especially because both other cars remain and could have served as molds for 205101's body. The owner did not agree and set out to completely restore the original aluminum body. Somehow he managed to do so without having to replace a single panel or use any filler, and in time for the 1989 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. This remarkable feat earned him a second in class at Pebble and numerous awards in other concours.

Still in concours winning condition, the first Abarth is seen here at the 2005 edition of annual The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering.

General specifications
Country of origin Italy
Produced in 1950
Introduced at 1950 Turin Motorshow
Numbers built 3
Body design Giovanni Michelotti and Alfredo Vignale for Vignale
Weight 660 kilo / 1455.1 lbs

Drivetrain
Engine Fiat / Cisitalia / Abarth Tipo 204 Straight 4
Engine Location Front , longitudinally mounted
Displacement 1.089 liter / 66.5 cu in
Valvetrain 2 valves / cylinder, OHV
Fuel feed 2 Weber 32 DRSP Carburetors
Aspiration Naturally Aspirated
Gearbox 4 speed Manual
Drive Rear wheel drive

Performance figures
Power 75 bhp / 56 KW @ 6000 rpm
Torque 108 Nm / 80 ft lbs
BHP/Liter 69 bhp / liter
Power to weight ratio 0.11 bhp / kg
Top Speed N/A
0-60 mph Acceleration N/A