A superb and rare photo of the 1958 Fiat 500 Abarth , during the famous 1958 world record breaking marathon on the Northern Italian circuit of Monza, where it covered a distance of 18,186 km (11,366 mi) at an average speed of 108 km/h (67.5 mph), the Fiat 500 Abarth broke six international records, nearly one every day! In the car we see Abarth factory testrider Franco Sabbatini in a Fiat 500 Abarth. This great period image was taken on the banked section of the circuit, which also was used for land speed world record breaking!

Abarth is an Italian racing car maker founded by Austrian-Italian Carlo Abarth in Turin in 1949. Its logo depicts a stylized scorpion on a red and yellow background. Carlo Abarth began his well-known association with Fiat in 1952, building the Abarth 1500 Biposto upon Fiat mechanicals. In the 1960s, Abarth & C. S.r.l was quite successful in hillclimbing and sports car racing, mainly in classes from 850cc up to 2000cc, competing with Porsche 904 and Ferrari Dino. Later, Johann Abt, who would later go on to found Abt Sportsline, was promised by Carlo Abarth that he could drive a factory car for free if he won all the races he entered—which Abt nearly did, winning 29 of 30, the 30th being in second. Along with its racing cars, Abarth produced high-performance exhaust pipes. Later, Abarth diversified in producing various tuning kits for road vehicles, mainly for Fiat. While there were many competitors in this segment, such as Giannini, Abarth has largely dominated the Italian tuning market since the sixties. Abarth was also associated in producing sports or racing cars with Porsche and Simca. Abarth was sold to Fiat on July 31, 1971, and the racing team sold to Enzo Osella. Abarth became the racing department of Fiat, managed by famed engine designer Aurelio Lampredi. Some models built by Fiat or its subsidiaries Lancia and Autobianchi were co-branded Abarth, the most famous being the Autobianchi A112 Abarth, probably the most popular "boy racer" vehicle of its time on account of its lightness and low price. Abarth also prepared Fiat Group's rally cars like Fiat 124 Abarth and 131 Abarth. In the 80s Abarth name was mainly used to mark performance Fiats like Fiat Ritmo Abarth 130 TC. The name was almost forgotten in 1990s and in 2000s it was used like a trim/model level on FIAT cars, like the FIAT Stilo Abarth. In 2007 Fiat Automobiles SpA relaunched the brand with the Grande Punto Abarth and the Grande Punto Abarth S2000. The brand is to be seen as a separate division to the main Fiat brand in a similar way that the Renault Sport brand is to the mainstream Renault. It is based in the Officine 83, part of the old Mirafiori engineering plant. The company CEO is Harald Wester. After years of sports competing on the continent, competition organisers announced the launch of a new Abarth 500 GB series for 2010. The competition was to represent a new high profile sponsored race series, which was staged at Oulton Park, Cheshire, on 3–5 April 2010. Building on the success of its namesake Italian and European series, the GB competition brought together a plethora of driver-talent from across the UK. The GB series was developed by the competitors for the competitors; by the sponsors for the sponsors, and by the fans for the fans. All Abarth Assetto Corse (limited edition) cars are built in Turin, Italy, and are checked to the highest standards. They are also subject to a shakedown and test at the Fiat Group proving ground in Balocco.

Carlo Abarth (15 November 1908 – 24 October 1979), born Karl Albert Abarth, was an automobile designer. Abarth was born in Austria, but later was naturalized as an Italian citizen; and at this time his first name Karl was changed to its Italian equivalent of Carlo. Abarth was born in Vienna, during the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As a teenager, he worked for Castagna in Italy (1925–27), designing motorbike and bicycle chassis. Back in Austria, he worked for Motor Thun and Joseph Opawsky (1927–34), and raced motorbikes, winning his first race on a James Cycle in Salzburg on 29 July 1928. He later was European champion five times, along continuing the engineering. After a serious accident in Linz he abandoned motorbike racing, and designed a sidecar (1933) with which he managed to beat the Orient Express railway on the 1,300-kilometre (810 mi) stretch from Vienna to Ostend (1934). He moved permanently to Italy in 1934, where he met Ferdinand Porsche's son-in-law Anton Piëch, and married his secretary. Abarth was long hospitalized and had his racing career end, due to a racing accident in Yugoslavia (1938). He stayed in Yugoslavia (with some visits in Austria and Italy though) until the war was over. Following this, he moved to Merano, where his ancestors originated from. Abarth got to know both Tazio Nuvolari and the family-friend Ferry Porsche, and with engineer Rudolf Hruska and Piero Dusio, he established the Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia (CIS Italia, later becoming Cisitalia), having the Italian Porsche Konstruktionen agency (1943–48). The first automobile outcome of this cooperation was the rather unsuccessful Tipo 360 F1 prototype (see also Porsche 360). The CIS Italia project ended when Dusio moved to Argentina (1949).  Carlo Abarth then founded the Abarth & C. company with Cisitalia racing driver Guido Scagliarini in Bologna (31 March 1949), using his astrological sign, the Scorpio, as the company logo. Same year Abarth & Co moved to Turin. Financed by Guido Scagliarini's father Armando Scagliarini, the company made racing cars, and became a major supplier of high-performance exhaust pipes, that still are in production as Abarth. Carlo Abarth personally set various speed records at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza (20 October 1965). He sold the company on 31 July 1971 to Fiat and continued a while as a CEO and then moved back to Vienna, Austria. Carlo Abarth was married three times. His first wife was secretary of Anton Piech in Vienna. His second wife, Nadina Abarth-Zerjav, he married on 28.11.1949. After cohabitating with her until 1966 the couple divorced in 1979. The same year, about six weeks before his death, Abarth married his third wife, Anneliese Abarth, (born 1939); she continues to head the Carlo Abarth Foundation and wrote one of his biographies in 2010.

The Fiat 500 , or, in Italian, Fiat Cinquecento is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa. Launched as the Nuova (new) 500 in July 1957, it was marketed as a cheap and practical town car. Measuring only 3 metres (~10 feet) long, and originally powered by a tiny 479 cc two-cylinder, air-cooled engine, the 500 redefined the term "small car" and is considered one of the first city cars. In 2007, the 50th anniversary of the original 500's launch, Fiat launched a similar styled, longer and heavier front wheel drive car, the Fiat Nuova 500. To meet the demands of the post-war market which called for economy cars, the Fiat 500 was rear-engined on the pattern of the Volkswagen Beetle, just like its bigger brother, the 1955 Fiat 600. Several car makers followed the now uncommon rear engine configuration at the time and were quite successful. The Neckar version manufactured in Heilbronn under a complicated deal involving NSU, was introduced in October 1961. In Upper Austria the firm of Steyr-Puch also produced cars based, by agreement, on the Fiat 500.

Despite its diminutive size, the 500 proved to be an enormously practical and popular vehicle throughout Europe. Besides the two-door coupé, it was also available as the "Giardiniera" station wagon; this variant featured the standard engine laid on its side, the wheelbase lengthened by 10 cm (4 in) which yielded a usable rear seat, a full-length sunroof, and larger brakes from the Fiat 600.

Sports models were famously produced by Abarth, as well as by Giannini. An Austrian variant, produced by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, the 1957–1973 Steyr-Puch 500, had a motorcycle-derived Puch boxer twin motor, a sports model of which was the 1965–1969 Steyr-Puch 650 TR2. Production of the 500 ended in 1975, although its replacement, the Fiat 126, was launched two years earlier. The 126 was never as popular as its predecessor in Italy, but was enormously popular in the former Eastern Bloc countries, where it is famed for its mechanical durability and high fuel economy. The following versions of the Fiat 500 were made:

Nuova (New) (1957–1960)

The 'original' new 500, the Nuova, has a smaller two-cylinder engine than all newer models, at 479 cc (500cc nominal), hence the name, and producing just 13 bhp. This model also features a fabric roof folding all the way back to the rear of the vehicle, like that of a Citroën 2CV rather than the later roof design, which only folds half way back along the roof. The Nuova is one of three models featuring "suicide doors." There is also a stylish Sport version of the Nuova, which features a distinctive red stripe and a more powerful engine, bored out to 499.5 cc from the original 479 cc engine, thus producing an impressive 21 bhp from the same original block.

D (1960–1965)

Replacing the original Nuova in 1960, the D looks very similar to the Nuova, but there are two key differences. One is the engine size (the D features an uprated 499 cc engine producing 17 bhp as standard—this engine is used right through until the end of the L in 1973) and the other is the roof: the standard D roof does not fold back as far as the roof on the Nuova, though it was also available as the "Transformable" with the same roof as the Nuova. The D also features "suicide doors".

K or Giardiniera (1960–1977)

The estate version of the Fiat 500 is the longest running model. The engine is laid under the floor of the boot to create a flat loading surface. The roof on this model also stretches all the way to the rear, not stopping above the driver and front passenger as it does in other models of the same period. The K also features "suicide doors" and was the only model to continue to sport this door type into the 1970s.

F or Berlina (1965–1973)

The F spans two periods of 500 production, the D and the L. As such, it is the most frequently misidentified model. Between 1965 and 1969 the F carried the same badging as the D, but the two models are distinguishable by the positioning of their door hinges. The D has "suicide doors": the F, produced from June 1965, at last featured front-hinged doors. Between 1969 and 1972 the F was sold alongside the Lusso model as a cheaper "base model" alternative. While the F and L are mechanically very similar, the key differences are the bumpers (the L has an extra chrome nudge bar) and the interior (the F interior is nearly identical to the original 1957 design while the L sports a much more modern look).

L or Lusso (1968–1972)

The penultimate model, the main change for the L is a much modernized interior (including a renewed dashboard) which brought the Fiat 500 up to date. Greater comfort and style were provided in this new model for the new generation.

R or Rinnovata (1972–1975)

The last incarnation of the Fiat 500 was the R model. It had a larger 594 cc engine, designed by Abarth, giving it a more usable power rating of 23 bhp, and came with a full synchromesh gearbox. The floor-pan which was from either the 'L', or later, the new 126. It was also more comfortable, but more simply trimmed and equipped than before — the fuel gauge was omitted and only the low fuel indicator remained. The 500 R was also a stop-gap for Fiat prior to the launch of the Fiat 126, and when the new 126 was launched, sales of the old Fiat 500 R plummeted. It was sold alongside the Fiat 126 for another two years before Fiat retired the 500.

Fiat 500 Ghia

Carrozzeria Ghia made a custom "Jolly" version of the 500 inspired by the limited edition Fiat 600 Jolly. As with its bigger sister, this was a chopped-roof doorless version with wicker seats, often seen sporting a canopy roof.

In July 1958 seven Fiat 500s , including at least one 500 Sport and several Abarth-tuned 500s, contested the first and only Liège-Brescia-Liège Rally for cars up to 500cc. Though beaten by the Berkeley SE492s and Messerschmitt TG500 on the opening hillclimb, the Fiat 500s showed exceptional durability, battling through this almost non-stop 3300 km event, over testing dirt-road passes in the Italian Dolomites and Slovenia, to win. First place was taken by the 500 Sport of Italian Arturo Brunetto and Argentine Alfredo Frieder, second by the Abarth 500 of Luxembourgers Wagner and Donven, with 500s also taking 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 13th places. While only 13 of the 29 competing cars finished the rally, all seven 500s did, establishing the car's credentials as a capable all-round car. In May 2007 a 1969 Fiat 500 ("Bambino" in Australia) driven by Lang Kidby and his wife Bev started their Fiat 500 World Expedition from Australia. Driving from Vladivostok through Russia they arrived in Garlenda, Italy in time for the car's 50th anniversary celebration. Shipping from Belgium the car set out from New York to travel all the way to Anchorage, Alaska before returning to Australia—32,000 road kilometers in just 99 days. It is believed to be the smallest car to complete a world circumnavigation. On April 18, 2005 a 1973 Fiat 500 linked Bari, Italy, to Beijing, China, in a 16,000 km journey across the whole of Russia and passing through Vladivostok. Driven for 100 days by Danilo Elia and Fabrizio Bonserio, the old and tiny car was followed along its journey by newspapers and television from all over the world. In April–June 2007, the same car driven by Danilo Elia ran around the Mediterranean sea for more than 10.000 km, being the first Fiat 500 to reach the Sahara dunes. In 1995 British shoegazing band Lush recorded a tribute song to Fiat 500. The song, aptly named 500, was released on the group's final album Lovelife in 1996. A remixed version of the song, renamed 500 (Shake Baby Shake), was released as the groups final single later that year, reaching #21 in the UK singles chart. Free diving world champion Enzo Molinari and his brother Roberto drive a beaten-up Fiat 500 with a trailer full of diving equipment in the movie The Big Blue. Both actors and the car later featured in Japanese TV commercials for 'Lazer 100' gasoline. In The Castle of Cagliostro, a Japanese animated film starring the master thief Arsène Lupin III, he and his close friend Daisuke Jigen escape on a Fiat 500 pursuit after robbing the casino of Monaco. The car is also seen frequently in other animated iterations of the franchise, including the 1971-72 television series and the 2008 special Red Vs Green. In the 2006 animated movie Cars, produced by Pixar and populated by anthropomorphic motor vehicles, the automotive character of Luigi is a 1959 Fiat 500. Fiat previewed the all new Fiat 500 in March 2007 —exactly 50 years after the first Fiat 500 was presented. The design of the new 2007 Fiat 500 is based on the 2004 Fiat Trepiuno concept. This car features a distinctive retro-look just like the Volkswagen New Beetle and BMW MINI but is substantially cheaper than those cars, with a starting price of €10,500 (similar to how the original Fiat 500 was cheaper than the Volkswagen Beetle and Austin Mini). Fiat shares the underpinnings of the new 500 with Ford for the 2009 Ford Ka. Production takes place in Fiat facilities in Tychy, Poland, and was scheduled for mid 2007, with commercial debut in September 2007. The Nuova 500 was introduced in Mexico in September 2008. Powered by the 1.4 L 16V 100 PS (74 kW; 99 hp) engine, transmissions are dualogic for the 500 Classic, 500 Lounge and 500 Vintage trims or six-speed manual gearbox for the 500 Sport Trim. The Abarth 500, Abarth 500 esseesse, Abarth 500C and the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari variants have been sold through independent importers. Mexico became the first country in the Americas in which the Nuova 500 is sold. The US launch was late in 2010 with first deliveries in Spring 2011; it also appeared in Canada at about the same time. In August 2011, Fiat announced that a Gucci design package will be offered for the 500 including "a hand-stitched two-tone ivory and white steering wheel". Such luxury editions appear to preclude any entry level market position, thereby defining the 500 model as an up-market niche product with limited prospects.

Fiat is an Italian automobile manufacturer which was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli, the company name FIAT is an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), and it also means "let there be" in Latin. Fiat was also an aircraft manufacturer at one time. Fiat branded cars are constructed all around the world besides Italy, the biggest industry of the company outside Italy is in Brazil, also has factories in Poland and Argentina. Joint Venture productions in France, Turkey, Egypt (with the state owned Nasr car company), South Africa, India and China. Giovanni Agnelli founded Fiat in 1899 with several investors and led the company until his death in 1945, while Vittorio Valletta administered the day-to-day activities of the company. In 1903, Fiat produced its first truck. In 1908, the first Fiat was exported to the US. That same year, the first Fiat aircraft engine was produced. Also around the same time, Fiat taxis became somewhat popular in Europe. By 1910, Fiat was the largest automotive company in Italy — a position it has retained since. That same year, a plant licensed to produce Fiats in Poughkeepsie, NY, made its first car. This was before the introduction of Ford's assembly line in 1913. Owning a Fiat at that time was a sign of distinction. A Fiat sold in the U.S. cost between $3,600 and $8,600, compared to US$825 the Model T in 1908. However, upon the entry of the US into World War I in 1917, the factory was shut down as US regulations became too burdensome. At the same time, Fiat had to devote all of its factories to supplying the Allies with aircraft, engines, machine guns, trucks, and ambulances. After the war, Fiat introduced its first tractor. By the early 1920s, Fiat had a market share in Italy of 80%. In 1921, workers seized Fiat's plants and hoisted the red flag of communism over them. Agnelli responded by quitting the company, retiring to private life, and letting the workers try to run the company. Shortly afterward, 3,000 of them walked to his office and asked him to return to the helm — a request to which he reluctantly agreed. In 1922, Fiat began to build the famous Lingotto car factory — the largest in Europe up to that time — which opened in 1923. It was the first Fiat factory to use assembly lines; by 1925, Fiat controlled 87% of the Italian car market. Fiat made military machinery and vehicles during World War II for the Army and Regia Aeronautica and later for the Germans. Fiat made obsolete fighter aircraft like the biplane CR.42, which was one of the most common Italian aircraft, along with Savoia-Marchettis, as well as light tanks (obsolete compared to their German and Soviet counterparts) and armored vehicles. The best Fiat aircraft was the G.55 fighter, which arrived too late and in too limited numbers. In 1945 — the year Mussolini was overthrown - the Italian Committee of National Liberation removed the Agnelli family from leadership roles in Fiat because of its ties to Mussolini's government. These were not returned until 1963, when Giovanni's grandson, Gianni, took over as general manager until 1966, as chairman until 1996.

This is a very nice and very rare photo that reflects a wonderful era of Abarth and Fiat automotive history in a wonderful way.  This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 10" (ca. 20 x 27 cm).  It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.

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