The Abarth 1000 GT Coupé or Alfa Romeo 1000 Abarth GT Bertone Coupé is a prototype car made by the Italian car producer

Abarth Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a shield with a styliz ...

in collaboration with Alfa Romeo, and designed by Franco Scaglione for

Bertone Bertone is an Italian surname meaning "descendant of Roberto". Notable people with the surname include: * Alicia Bertone, American academic, researcher, and veterinary surgeon * Catherine Bertone (born 1972), Turkish-born female Italian marathon r ...

. Three cars were built; one example survives, rebodied by

Luigi Colani Luigi Colani (born Lutz Colani 2 August 1928 – 16 September 2019) was a German industrial designer. His long career began in the 1950s when he designed cars for companies including Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Volkswagen, and BMW. In 1957, he dr ...

Overview

The cars were built in 1958, and was fitted with

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

's 1.0-litre

straight engine The straight or inline engine is an internal combustion engine with all cylinders aligned in one row and having no offset. Usually found in four, six and eight cylinder configurations, they have been used in automobiles, locomotives and aircraft ...

with double overhead camshafts with a power output of . The engine was a short-stroke version of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta's 1.3 litre engine, developed so as to enable it to compete in racing categories restricted to engines of less than one litre. The stroke was reduced to while the bore remained . The tubular chassis reportedly only weighed , and the car was fitted with a fully synchronized five-speed "System Porsche" transmission. The modest engine was offset by the kerb weight of just . Only three were built, and after at least two of them were crashed while testing at AVUS in Germany the project was abandoned.

Rebodied by Colani

Young designer

bought the wrecked cars and pieced together a fibreglass-bodied design of his own, which still exists although it is currently powered by a 1.3 litre Giulietta Veloce engine. 1959 Abarth-Alfa Romeo 1300 or 1000 Berlinetta Colani

1959 Abarth-Alfa Romeo 1300 or 1000 Berlinetta Colani

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1000 GT Coupe Abarth vehicles Alfa Romeo concept vehicles Cars introduced in 1958 Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sports cars Coupés