Photo: Bonhams
The Fiat-Abarth 750 Series is one of the most revered Italian automobiles of the 1950s. Based on the Fiat 600, these babies were augmented by the crazy engineers at Abarth and even crazier body shells made by Zagato. This 1959 Fiat-Abarth 750 Bialbero 'Record Monza' Coupé is one of those pocket racers.
Slated to be offered at auction at Bonhams' Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale, this precursor of the hot hatchback is estimated to fetch up to £70,000 (that's $107,000 or €96,230 at current exchange rates). That's more than double the starting price of the wickedly cool (and fast) Abarth 695 Edizione Maserati.
Despite the somewhat steep estimate, this 1959 Fiat-Abarth 750 Bialbero 'Record Monza' Coupé with coachwork by Carrozzeria Zagato makes a case in point of what a highly original classic car should be like. Though there's no official record of this 750's early career, "experienced marque experts" gave this little Abarth plenty of thumbs up for its originality.
According to surviving records, the Fiat-Abarth 750 on hand was first registered in 1965. Before its public road-bound life, the car "had previously been part of the Abarth works team - and there is an inference (unconfirmed) that it is one of the cars which participated in the Sebring 12 Hours before selling to a customer in Taranto, Italy." The most recent owner bought the thing in 2003.
As you can see from the adjacent photographs, a lot of TLC and elbow grease needs to be poured into transforming this Fiat-Abarth 750 into a road and race-worthy machine. The Bialbero twin-cam engine turns freely, the cylinder bores look clean, and the water pump is in working condition. Only the electric and fuel system need to be immediately adressed. Other than that, the braking system needs a "full strip and rebuild prior to the car being used," while the interior trim could use the some restoration.
Though the base engine comes from the Fiat 600, Abarth's know-how increased the output of the 747 cc motor from 19 to 57 horsepower at 7,000 rpm. Top speed? 121 mph (194 km/h) in a pocket rocket that weighs 1,145 lbs (519 kg) thanks to its aerodynamic Zagato aluminum body. No wonder works cars finished the 1959 edition of the 12 Hours of Sebring in first, second, third and fourth place in the GT750 class.
Despite the somewhat steep estimate, this 1959 Fiat-Abarth 750 Bialbero 'Record Monza' Coupé with coachwork by Carrozzeria Zagato makes a case in point of what a highly original classic car should be like. Though there's no official record of this 750's early career, "experienced marque experts" gave this little Abarth plenty of thumbs up for its originality.
According to surviving records, the Fiat-Abarth 750 on hand was first registered in 1965. Before its public road-bound life, the car "had previously been part of the Abarth works team - and there is an inference (unconfirmed) that it is one of the cars which participated in the Sebring 12 Hours before selling to a customer in Taranto, Italy." The most recent owner bought the thing in 2003.
As you can see from the adjacent photographs, a lot of TLC and elbow grease needs to be poured into transforming this Fiat-Abarth 750 into a road and race-worthy machine. The Bialbero twin-cam engine turns freely, the cylinder bores look clean, and the water pump is in working condition. Only the electric and fuel system need to be immediately adressed. Other than that, the braking system needs a "full strip and rebuild prior to the car being used," while the interior trim could use the some restoration.
Though the base engine comes from the Fiat 600, Abarth's know-how increased the output of the 747 cc motor from 19 to 57 horsepower at 7,000 rpm. Top speed? 121 mph (194 km/h) in a pocket rocket that weighs 1,145 lbs (519 kg) thanks to its aerodynamic Zagato aluminum body. No wonder works cars finished the 1959 edition of the 12 Hours of Sebring in first, second, third and fourth place in the GT750 class.
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