Do Look Back

  While a good part of the 750GT’s alure/enigmatic character is the tendency for body/trim variations to come and go – often on a far from systematic basis – ‘loose’ record keeping at Corso Marche has left us with real difficulty in their charting/dating.  So the survey of key external body areas/trim that follows is offered only on an indicative basis and cannot be considered definitive.   I have frequently referred to the Image Archive within the Fiat Abarth 750GT Zagato Forum .  Many of the illustration captions (and thus the abbreviations)  below are as recorded in the Image Archive. Please let me know if you identify any possible image copyright issues. Roof:   The following points stem from John de Boer’s Fiat-Abarth "double bubble" study (January 2018): Cars built by Zagato before the formal agreement for the creation of the 750GT as an Abarth model, designated Zagato Serie 1, have a ‘smooth’ roof.  This includes the very first car, #00176...

Carlo Abarth’s company, founded in 1949 following the collapse of the Cisitalia team he had been managing, grew steadily in its first six years of existence.  From its initial office in Bologna, its operational base was swiftly relocated to Via Trecate, Turin.  At the outset, the main focus of effort was in upgrading and running the Cisitalia 204A roadsters and this was largely successful.  There was however quite a setback as autumn set in, when the Madrid Grand Prix went badly for the team.  But this served to reinforce the view Carlo had for some time held – that reliance on racing as a primary activity could be commercially ill-advised, there being too many extraneous influencing factors involved.  So, seeking to ensure that his new enterprise would be financially sound – and thus be able to fund its ongoing competitive involvement in motor sport – he began to apply both his business acumen and his engineering expertise to the development of automotive ‘acce...