Mid-fifties, American boy racers had a craving for European roadsters. Light and agile, they were everything the American cars were not. And ideally suited for the blossoming club racing scene. Pushed by their importer Max Hoffman, Porsche showed the way with the 356 Speedster. Here is Abarth’s little-known answer: the 207 A.
Just after World War II had ended, Pierro Dusio founded Cisitalia. He employed Carlo Abarth, who had ties to the Porsche family. Cisitalia quickly ran into financial difficulties, which only motivated Abarth to start a car company under his own name in 1949. The basis was identical to Cisitalia: easy to source, cheap Fiat parts, complemented by a good-looking, coachbuilt body.
Hoffman’s hint
The 205 A was the first ‘full’ Abarth – there had been Fiat Abarths and Cisitalia Abarths before – that appeared at the 1951 Turin Motor Show. Porsche by that time was a bit ahead, having debuted the 356 in 1947. Starting a sports car company, right after the war, was anything but easy. It would in fact be Porsche’s American importer – Max Hoffman – who would tilt the balance, selling one third of Porsche’s production in the US. Hoffman saw amateur racing take off all across the States with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) divisions. He pushed Porsche to make a lighter version of the 356 convertible: the Porsche 356 Speedster.
Pompeo’s push
Abarth, himself a racer at heart, followed the same route. Just as with Hoffman, Abarth’s US importer would play a big role. It was Tony Pompeo who convinced Carlo Abarth he should build a barchetta to go racing, in the style Ferrari and Maserati had shown. Abarth stuck to Fiat 1100 parts, which were available in sufficient qualities. A humble basis to go racing, but Abarth was quick to show his wizardry. With the addition of a set of Weber 36 DCO4 carburettors, tuned manifolds, increased compression ratio and that glorious Abarth twin exhaust proudly hanging from the side, the 1089-cc four-pot nearly doubled its output, from 36 hp to 66 hp.
Michelotti design
Abarth produced a steel chassis, altered the 1100’s suspension and asked Boano to come up with a steel coachwork. Giovanni Michelotti sketched a super-low racer – the 207 A was always intended to be a race car – with a two-toned body that visually lowered the car further. The pronounced wheel arches were very futuristic for fifties design. The pronounced headrest make the Abarth 207 A a Batmobile avant la lettre. With weight down to 522 kilos, the Abarth 207 A meant business.
Sebring success (almost)
Abarth presented the car in 1955. John Bentley was the first to enter chassis #001 in a race, the 1955 12 Hours of Sebring. Together with Jim McGee, Bentley was on his way to a good result, which may have made a difference. In fact, Bentley’s Abarth 207 A finished the race fourth in the 1500 cc class, but was disqualified. Having run out of fuel on the track, Bentley rushed to the pits to collect a jerrycan. However, when officials found out, the threw Bentley’s result out on account of illegal refuelling. The class win went Porsche’s way with the 550 Spyder.
More 207 As appeared at SCCA races all over the States. Bentley was able to add a couple of class wins, but in the end, the Abarth 207 A went out of fashion before it even had a chance to shine. For that, it did not only have Stuttgart to blame, but a small constructor from the UK as well: Lotus.
With the Lotus IX, Colin Chapman put a lighter car on the market. The Abarth 207 A was on the back foot. Ultimately, just 10 or 11 207 As were produced. All went to the United States. A 208 A Spyder for the road and a 209 A Coupe arrived as road car alternatives for the 207 A, but just the one copy of each was made.
Unknown force
Seventy years on, the Abarth 207 A Spyder has only become more intriguing. Michelotti’s styling puts the 207 A in a completely different register compared to the Porsches, the Lotus and the OSCA contemporaries. Indeed, it looks like it came straight out of a comic book. Add in the rarity, and you can only come to the conclusion that the Abarth 207 A is one of automotive history’s misfits. Unknown, and all the more special because of that.
Abarth’s favourite colour combo
This car is chassis #008, originally delivered in two-tone blue. Its contemporary racing history is not fully known. It appears with Connecticut-based Keith Goring in the 80s, and passes on to an enthusiast in Genoa in 1988. The original bodywork gets a new layer of paint, the silver-and-red you see here. Apparently, it’s Carlo Abarth’s favourite combination.
These pocket fifties Spyders are in many ways the epitome of what an enthusiast’s car should be: light, low, agile. With a nimble engine. The complete opposite of what cars are now. Chassis #008 comes up for sale at Broad Arrow’s Zoute Concours auction in Belgium, on October 10th. For this sympathetically restored car, the estimate of €250,000 to €350,000 seems a very correct one, given the rarity of this car. Compared to a Porsche 550 Spyder, it is downright cheap. And you’ll have something very special that will turn heads everywhere you come. We really need to show these fifties barchettas more love.
More on Broad Arrow’s Zoute Concours auction here.
