Abarth T140 Update

It's taken longer to get here than I had expected, but I now have an update to the December 2021 post about the Abarth T140.  

The car offers a great deal of intrigue, all the more so since we can only 'glimpse' it as a concept - no functional example ever having been constructed, let alone run on-track.  Tantalising too, since the 12 cylinder engine had been completed/tested and a full size body model made.  And with many hours and lire spent on the project, it was cancelled unceremoniously, in response to the FIA's abrupt revision in June 1967 of the International Sporting Code, Appendix J definition of racing classes for the 1968 season.

Writing about the engine up to now has mostly included opinion that it was heavy and not especially powerful.  But development had only just got underway and I believe that given Abarth's proven expertise with the highly successful upgrading of Fiat and Simca engines for the little GTs, it could have made the Tipo 240 V12 a fully competitive proposition for endurance racing.

There also seemed to be some misunderstandings/conflicting summaries about the engine's architecture.  In order to better understand this I have recently been in touch with Gianfranco Bossu - colleague at Corso Marche of Luciano Fochi, designer of the T240.  Gianfranco not only most kindly shared with me his recollections of the engine's design and initial running, but also provided me with copies of his contemporary drawings, clarifying the basic layout and several points of detail.

I have completed a write-up on my findings covering both the car itself and the sporting/technical/commercial context.  The intention is to complement this with some new photography of the stunning T140 replica created by Hansi Maerz as a Scuderia Gemini project in collaboration with Udo Siekmann.  It's hoped that a photoshoot can be arranged shortly, and publication made before the end of the year.

Stay tuned!




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