1966 Abarth 1300 OT Periscopio

Sold for $506,000 at 2016 Gooding & Company : The Amelia Island Auction.
The company's logo, the Scorpion, was sourced from when Karl Alberto Abarth was born. He was born on November 15th of 1908 in Vienna, Austria, under the astrological symbol of the scorpion. At an early age, he began showing a talent for engineering, and at the age of 16, he began an apprenticeship with Degan in Italy, designing bicycle and motorcycle chassis. The Abarth Company was formed on April 15th of 1949 in Turin, Italy.

During the 1960s, Abarth was quite successful in hill climbing and sportscar racing, mainly in classes from 850cc up to 2000cc. Along with their racing endeavors, Abarth also produced high-performance exhaust pipes and later diversified in the production of various tuning kits for road vehicles, mainly focusing on Fiats. As 1964 was coming to a close, Abarth's contract with supplier Simca expired, as Chrysler had gained a majority stake in the French manufacturer and chose not to pursue a competition agenda. Thus, Abarth needed a replacement for the Simca-Abarth 1300 and 2000 GTs. The Italian constructor began work on a 4-cylinder motor of his own design. It was given a displacement size of 1300cc, had two valves per cylinder, twin-plug ignition, and dry sump lubrication. The 1300 OT (Omologato Turismo) had a compression ratio of 10.5:1 and breathed through two Weber carburetors, helping to produce approximately 145 horsepower.

Abarth's new engine was installed in a new coupe body that was designed by Abarth and had a three-piece clamshell fashion by Sibona & Basano of Torino. The coachwork was mounted on a developed version of the Fiat 850 chassis. Between May 1965 and March
1966, at least 50 examples were built to satisfy homologation requirements.

Intended for racing, the 1300 OT was devoid of creature comforts with a bare fiberglass interior and weight-saving features like drilled aluminum pedals. The mounted was mounted in the rear and a radiator was installed in the front of the car. Several examples were equipped with a periscope-style intake on the roof that allowed air to be fed directly to the driver. Cars with this feature were nicknamed Periscopio.

During the 1966-1968 seasons, the 1300 OT Coupe proved to be very successful, and dominated its class, notably winning the Division 1 FIA Manufacturer's Cup in 1967 and 1968.

This particular example was delivered new to Abarth's German affiliate, Abarth Corse Deutschland. It raced in many events during the 1966 season by Siegfried Dau. It won the HMSC-Flugplatz-Rennen at Mainz-Finthen in June and the DARM Touring Car Grand Prix at Hockenheim in July. It also earned a second-in-class at the 100-mile race at Hockenheim and the 500 KM Nürburgring.

After the season, the car was sold to Peter Kaus, where it was given a full restoration. Two decades later, it was sold to Japanese collector Shiro Kosaka, owner of the Gallery Abarth.

In 2008, the car was sold to Italian car collector Elad Shraga, who commissioned a mechanical rebuild. Once the work was completed, it was driven occasionally before being sold in 2010 to an Ohio-based enthusiast. It has recently come into the care of its present owner.

This car is still equipped with the proper Tipo 237 Abarth engine. The 1290cc dual overhead cam 4-cylinder engine is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. There are disc brakes located at all four corners.
On July 31st of 1971, Abarth was sold to Enzo Oscella. Currently, Abarth is now part of the recent alliance between Fiat and Chrysler.

Carlo Abarth's OT (Omologato Turismo) series
By Daniel Vaughan | May 2016