Carlo Abarth (15 November 1908 – 24 October 1979), born Karl Albert Abarth, was an Italian automobile designer. Abarth was born in Austria, but later was naturalized as an Italian citizen; and at this time his first name Karl Albert was changed to its Italian equivalent of Carlo Alberto.

Biography

Before World War II

Abarth was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, during the time of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. As a teenager, he worked for Castagna in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(1925–27), designing

motorbike A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...

and

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

chassis. Back in Austria, he worked for Motor Thun and Joseph Opawsky (1927–34), and raced

motorbikes A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, ...

, winning his first race on a James Cycle in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

on 29 July 1928. He would be European champion five times, along with continuing his engineering. After a serious accident in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

he abandoned motorbike racing, and designed a

sidecar A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''combination'', an ''outfit'', a ''rig'' or a ''hack''. ...

(1933) with which he managed to beat the

Orient Express The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...

railway on the stretch from Vienna to

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

(1934). He moved permanently to Italy in 1934, where he met

Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volkswag ...

's son-in-law

Anton Piëch Anton Piëch (; 21 September 1894 – 29 August 1952) was an Austrian-German lawyer and the son-in-law of Ferdinand Porsche. He headed Volkswagenwerk GmbH between 1941 and 1945, which produced the Volkswagen vehicles ('' KdF-Wagen'') at the factor ...

, and married his secretary. In 1939 Abarth was long hospitalized and had his racing career end, due to a racing accident in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. Other than visits to Austria and Italy, he remained in Slovenia until the war was over. During this time he worked at Ignaz Vok's factory.

After World War II

Following this, he moved to

Merano Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier V ...

, from where his ancestors originated. Abarth got to know both

Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari (; 16 November 1892 – 11 August 1953) was an Italian racing driver. He first raced motorcycles and then concentrated on sports cars and single-seaters. A resident of Mantua, he was known as 'Il Mantovano Volante' (Th ...

and the family-friend

Ferry Porsche Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche (19 September 1909 – 27 March 1998), mainly known as Ferry Porsche, was an Austrian-German technical automobile designer and automaker-entrepreneur. He operated Porsche AG in Stuttgart, Germany. His fathe ...

, and, together with engineer

Rudolf Hruska Rudolf Hruska (2 July 1915 in Vienna – 4 December 1995 in Turin) was an Austrian automobile designer and engineer, most famous for his design of various Alfa Romeo cars. After graduating Vienna University of Technology he worked for Magirus ...

and

Piero Dusio Piero Dusio (13 October 1899 – 7 November 1975) was an Italian footballer, businessman and racing driver.Donatella Biffignandi, Piero Dusio' from museoauto.it, an online museum for automotive issues, last accessed on 12 November 2016. Biograph ...

, he established the '' Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia'' (CIS Italia, later becoming

Cisitalia Cisitalia was an Italian sports and racing car brand. The name "Cisitalia" derives from "Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia", a business conglomerate founded in Turin in 1946 and controlled by the wealthy industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio ...

), having the Italian '' Porsche Konstruktionen'' agency (1943–48). The first automobile outcome of this cooperation was the rather unsuccessful

Tipo 360 The Fiat Tipo (codeproject ''Type 356'', also known as the Fiat Egea (stylized as ÆGEA) in Turkey and Dodge Neon in Mexico and the Middle East) is a compact car. A three-box sedan version was unveiled at the 2015 Istanbul Motor Show in May 2015 ...

F1 prototype (see also

Porsche 360 360 may refer to: * 360 (number) * 360 AD, a year * 360 BC, a year * 360 degrees, a circle Businesses and organizations * 360 Architecture, an American architectural design firm * Ngong Ping 360, a tourism project in Lantau Island, Hong Kong * ...

). The ''CIS Italia'' project ended when Dusio moved to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

(1949). Abarth then founded the Abarth & C. company with Cisitalia racing driver Guido Scagliarini in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

(31 March 1949), using his astrological sign, the

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

, as the company logo. The same year, Abarth & Co moved to Turin. Financed by Scagliarini's father Armando Scagliarini, the company made racing cars, and became a major supplier of high-performance

exhaust pipe An exhaust system is used to guide reaction exhaust gases away from a controlled combustion inside an engine or stove. The entire system conveys burnt gases from the engine and includes one or more exhaust pipes. Depending on the overall system ...

s, that still are in production as Abarth. On 20 October 1965 Abarth personally set various speed records at the ''

Autodromo Nazionale Monza The Monza Circuit ( it, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, , National Automobile Racetrack of Monza) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after ...

''. He sold the company on 31 July 1971 to

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

, although he continued to manage it as a CEO for a period. Later he moved back to Vienna, Austria, where he died in 1979.

Personal life

Carlo Abarth was married three times. His first wife was the secretary of Volkswagen's head

in Vienna. He married his second wife, Nadina Abarth-Žerjav, in 1949. They lived together in northern Italy until 1966, and divorced in 1979. The same year, about six weeks before his death, Abarth married his third wife, Anneliese Abarth; she continues to head the Carlo Abarth Foundation and wrote one of his biographies in 2010.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Official Abarth site

Fiat Abarth Photos

Abarth works museum – Lier – Belgium

Tribute to Carlo Abarth – Scuderia La Fortuna
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abarth, Carlo Abarth Abarth people Italian automobile designers Italian founders of automobile manufacturers Italian automotive pioneers Italian motorsport people 1908 births 1979 deaths Austrian emigrants to Italy Cisitalia people Engineers from Vienna 20th-century Austrian artists 20th-century Italian engineers