In
its first decade and a half, Abarth entered into collaborations with Bertone
only infrequently – just six projects: Biposto 1500 Coupe (’52), 750 Coupe
(’56), Spider (’56), the Record Enduro cars (’56), 1000 GT Coupe (’58) and OTR
1000 Coupe (’65). Meanwhile, Giorgetto Giugiaro
added to his design activity at Fiat by also working at a desk at Carrozzeria
Bertone’s Grugliasco offices. His
early projects there included such notable cars as: Alfa Romeo 2000 (’60),
Gordon Keeble GT (’60), Ferrari 250 GT SWB Speciale (‘60), Alfa Romeo 2600
Sprint (’62) and Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT (‘63). In ’68, together with Aldo Mantovani, he
established Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A. at Moncalieri. The company advertised itself as Ital
Design and its name was formally changed to Italdesign in ’87. The first Ital Design project was the
Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlinetta, soon followed by the Bizzarrini Manta. In February ’69 Giugiaro’s first Abarth was
presented – the 1600 Bialbero GT Coupe Italdesign.
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| Abarth 1600 GT Italdesign at the Turin Motor Show, ‘69 Courtesy Getty Images |
The coupe was Abarth project 167, assigned model code 104G. Factory records show the prototype as completed in February ’69, with a public debut at the Turin Motor Show on 29th October of that year. Based on the ’66, type 137/C 1600 OT Sport Coupe, it was constructed on a sheet metal, box-type chassis. The body, commissioned from Ital Design, was drawn by Giugiaro at the same time as he was creating the striking Alfa Romeo 33-based concept car, the Iguana.
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Left: Abarth 1600 GT Italdesign Courtesy Carrozzieri-italiani; Right: Alfa
Romeo Iguana Courtesy Italpassion |
The car utilised the Lampredi 1.6 Fiat twin cam engine
which featured in such models as the Fiat 124 and 132, Lancia Beta and several
Seats, with outputs in the range 87-98 bhp.
It entered the Corso Marche inventory as type #235 in ’62 when it was
used to power the Fiat Abarth 1600 Coupe 2+2 Ellena, tuned to 98 bhp@6000 rpm. An Abarth version, designated 235-C/A,
generating 145 bhp, was developed for the 1600 Bialbero GT Coupe Italdesign. Coupled with a vehicle weight of 674 Kg, the
car’s top speed was projected as 150 mph, while a 0-62 mph time of 5.6 seconds
was quoted.
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Courtesy Abarth Ollanda |
Much as the Abarth products of the late Fifties/Sixties
with Grand Touring designation had proven highly successful in GT category
racing, their extreme compactness and (mostly) small capacity engines rendered
them less than ideal for the long distance/high speed-in comfort role which
came to define a ‘GT’ as the Seventies came into view. Thus, the 1600 Bialbero GT Coupe Italdesign was
intended to be the first of a new line of Abarths, with more spacious interiors
and a generous measure of power derived from engines significantly bigger than
the familiar ‘around one litre’ mark.
Typical Carlo Abarth, devoting much of his thinking to consideration of the
future, anticipating customer preference trends, prepared to revise basic
product formats and specifications. Yet
at the same time he was increasingly having to apply his mind to the
existential issue of his company’s financial viability.
The
late Sixties were not kind to the Abarth marque and Carlo himself. Problems seemingly especially formulated to
target Abarth, piled up in ’67. Firstly,
it became notable that the Touring Car racing class scene was changing quite
radically, with changing rules, and a reduction in the number of younger
drivers entering competition as escalating costs proved a significant
deterrent. Meanwhile, within the
confines of the Corso Marche factory, the slow progress on the Formula One programme
was stacking up costs as well as lowering morale. Out on the streets, the national new car
market was expanding, yet Abarth’s sales were down – to just 369 cars, only 54%
of the total for ’66. ’68 saw no reason
for optimism. There were homologation
issues, disputes which resulted in withdrawal from both the Targa Florio and
the Monza 1000 Km, still no external sign of the Formula One car and general
economic unease as result of the Europe-wide ‘student unrest.’ And, perhaps most significantly, a revision
of Fiat’s fundamental industry posture, which was evidenced by the acquisition
of Autobianchi, Ferrari and Lancia.
It was thus a stressed Abarth that embarked on another
new racing season/production year in ’69, yet it still did so on a wide and
varied competitive front. Indeed, it is
probable that, driven by his dogged determination, Carlo was trying to do too
much in terms of racing participation with very limited resources. That had perhaps been a tendency ever since
the ’58 Fiat ‘win bonus’ agreement, understandable on the basis that the more
Abarth cars ran in races, the more likely they were to achieve victories and
thus bring in the money from Fiat. And
on that very point, ’69 delivered a crunch.
As another aspect of Fiat’s changing strategic disposition, it set up a
new competition-customer support division, with an intention to focus on rally
involvement, believing this would support road car marketing more effectively
than concentration on circuit/hillclimb events.
Accordingly, Abarth was notified that the ’58 agreement would be
cancelled. With that prospect looming,
it is not surprising that as the1600 Bialbero GT Coupe sat in the Turin Show
hall in autumn ’69, behind the scenes it had not proven feasible to devise any
plans for putting it into series production.
So,
the prototype remained a ‘one and only.’
I’m bound to say that I think that a real disappointment. Carlo had once again shown his shrewd market
intuition in seeking a creation from the pen of Giugiaro, a designer by then
well into his stride with a highly impressive back catalogue, but also with a
readiness to further evolve his vision and innovative inclinations. His particular facility with the Grand
Touring class which had recently been demonstrated with the Iso Grifo (’65),
Fiat Dino (’67) and the Alfa Iguana would clearly have made the 1600 a
sensational limited production premium GT.
Some criticism has been levelled at the relatively bulky rear
quarters/overhang, but this aspect of the car’s aesthetics could easily have
been enhanced in production by the use of larger diameter road wheels.
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Focus on the rear |
Overall, the form is expressive of purposeful elegance,
well in tune with the taste trends of the time.
While those trends led to several GT cars which possessed comparatively
claustrophobic interiors, the generous greenhouse of the Abarth ensured it had
nothing of that sort about its cabin.
Had Abarth been in better financial shape I believe this could have been
a successful new product, appealing both to existing customers and those who
had never previously considered buying a car built at Corso Marche.
As mentioned above, the loss of Abarth’s per-victory
bonus payments from Fiat amounted to a final straw. Within 2 years, Fiat would own the marque –
as of 31st July 1971, publicly announced on 15th
October. It has become a convention that
the 1600 Bialbero GT Coupe Italdesign was the last Abarth model developed and
launched whilst the company was still in Carlo’s ownership – though it should
be noted that no fewer than 17 new versions of previously launched models made
their debut between February ’69 and October ’71.
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Courtesy Manu Avila |
