To celebrate the 55th anniversary of the 1000 Sport Prototipo that won its class at the 500-kilometer Nürburgring race that year, Abarth has just unveiled the 1000 SP one-off. It was a lightweight and powerful spider based on a tubular chassis with a minimalistic design and a small four-cylinder engine. It made waves in Europe despite the very limited production of just a few examples. It follows the same basic design language but with a modern twist ensuring better aerodynamics and improved ergonomics. Abarth says the special model respects the original’s three fundamental design principles – lightness of forms, aerodynamics, and driveability.
2021 Abarth 1000 SP was initially designed to compete in both endurance races and hillclimbs and enjoyed success as in various motorsport disciplines. The concept is constructed around a carbonfibre and aluminium chassis, featuring overlapping triangle suspension with MacPherson struts in the rear, and is powered by the same 240bhp turbocharged 1.7-litre four-cylinder engine that featured in the Alfa Romeo 4C roadster. The retro-styled concept takes the form of a mid-sized sports car and is larger than the original, but it features several nods to the original design. Lightness, agility and aerodynamic efficiency were key to the design.
The Abarth 1000 SP echoes the lines and aesthetic characteristics of its forerunner. The sinuous body, with the soft surfaces of the fenders highlighting the position of the wheels, takes up the pattern of the spider with a central engine. It’s not known if the 1000 SP will be seen on a race track any time soon, but Alfa Romeo said it will appear at some undisclosed events focusing on vintage cars in the autumn. The cockpit glazing features shaped side deflectors, with their profile lowered towards the roll bar, the latter strictly ‘in view’ to highlight our being in the presence of a no-holds-barred spider.
Abarth & C. S.p.A. is an Italian racing and road car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. On 1 February 2007 Abarth was re-established as an independent unit with the launch of the current company, Abarth & C. S.p.a., controlled 100% by Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., dealing with the production and selling of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. In 2015, Abarth’s parent company was renamed FCA Italy S.p.A., reflecting the incorporation of Fiat S.p.A. into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles that took place in the previous months. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its FCA Italy S.p.A. division.
