CarBrandLogos archive · Abarth · 1950

AbarthAbarth 205A Berlinetta

Four cars, a Ghia body, and the start of Carlo Abarth's business.

Photo: Brian Snelson · CC BY 2.0

The story

A defining chapter in Abarth history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Abarth 205A Berlinetta, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Carlo Abarth built his firm out of the wreckage of Cisitalia, whose racing programme collapsed in 1949 and left him with parts, staff and a workshop in Turin. The 205A was his answer to the question of what to do next: a complete car under his own name rather than a set of parts for somebody else's.

Abarth Coupe · Craig Morey · CC BY-SA 2.0

Design and engineering

Underneath sat Fiat 1100 running gear in front-engine, rear-drive form, the 1089 cc pushrod four later enlarged to 1188 cc, with a four-speed gearbox. The bodywork was the interesting part - a compact berlinetta drawn by Giovanni Michelotti and built by Ghia, low and clean in a way that made the humble Fiat mechanicals underneath hard to guess at.

1950-Abarth205Monza · Brian Snelson · CC BY 2.0

Cisitalia Abarth interior - Flick - Concorso Italiano 2004

In production

Only four were made between 1950 and 1953. The economics never worked, and Abarth soon found the business that would sustain him instead: exhausts, tuning parts and competition conversions of other people's cars. The 207A Spyder followed, but the pattern was already set.

Cisitalia Abarth interior - Flick - Concorso Italiano 2004 · Craig Howell from San Carlos, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1950–1953

Engine

1089&nbsp

Designer

Giovanni Michelotti (for Ghia)

Technical specification

The Abarth 205A Berlinetta, in detail.

Production: 1950–1953 (4 produced)
Layout: FR layout
Engine: 1089 cc Fiat 1100 (1937); Fiat Overhead valve engine; OHV Straight-four engine; I4 ; 1188 cc Fiat 1100 (1937); Fiat OHV I4
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Designer: Giovanni Michelotti (for Ghia)
Assembly: Turin, Italy
Manufacturer: Abarth