Brian Joss – Abarth will be turning 70 in a few days’ time. This important milestone in motorsports is another record of the Italian brand, which is still fuelling the dreams of fans worldwide today more than ever.
Celebrating this anniversary means remembering the invaluable people, the sporting achievements and the technological heritage of Abarth as well as consolidating that indissoluble bond that unites various generations of customers all under the banner of the founder’s mission of maximum performance, craftsmanship and constant technical refinement.
“Telling the key stages of Abarth is an opportunity to rediscover the record-breaking cars, the revolutionary tuning kits and legendary races that marked the technological progress and motorsport accomplishments of the brand”, – explained Luca Napolitano, Head of EMEA Fiat and Abarth brands.
“All this belongs to the past and to the present of Abarth, together with the commitment and pride of the people who over time have worked in the factories and offices and on the race tracks, with a little extra something.
Besides sporting satisfaction, for the engineers and technicians of the brand with the Scorpion badge races are the tough proving grounds where the most innovative technological solutions can be tested in the most adverse conditions before carrying them across to the street-legal Abarth models. In this way, we can achieve the very best in terms of performance, safety and reliability and offer it to our customers”.
This is one of the secrets of the vitality of the brand, which continues to fascinate, as confirmed by the record-breaking sales in Europe last year with nearly 23,500 new registrations marking a 36.5% growth on 2017. The results were particularly outstanding in some markets. For example, Abarth set its national record in the United Kingdom with 5,600 units sold and a growth of 27%, while Spain sold 1,450 units, also representing a growth of 27%. What’s more, the brand’s fan base is expanding at a dizzying rate across Europe, with nearly 110,000 members registered to the Abarth Scorpionship community.
Enthusiasm among fans is also running high following the remarkable accomplishments of the Abarth 124 rally which, after a season packed of successes in all the national and international rally championships it competed, has been renewed this year (follow the link for more information) by capitalising on the experience of the first two racing seasons and continuous development work of the Abarth team. The goal is simple: to keep being the car to beat in the R-GT class.
The Abarth “70th Anniversary” range for Abarth 595 and Abarth 124, all identified on the outside by a special badge to make the cars of 2019 unique and exclusive, was launched to celebrate the motorsports achievements and the important milestone (follow the link for the press release).
Celebrations continued at the recent Geneva Motor Show with the presentation of the new 595 esseesse, also sporting the celebratory badge, and by the limited edition 124 Rally Tribute, of which only 124 will be made. Follow this link for more information on this news.
CAPTION: Birthday editions: the Abarth 595 and Abarth 124. Picture: Quickpic
