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| Number 174 - English version dated 31.10.2019 - © Axel Gerstl |
Commemorative stamp, 70 Years of Abarth 2019
Photo: Auto-Medienportal.Net/FCA 
Fiat 500 Abarth
Photo courtesy of Hans Egli |
70 Years of Abarth Dear Customers, dear friends of the Fiat 500, Fiat 126 and Fiat 600, One of this year’s highlights is the double anniversary of the Abarth scorpion, because 2019 marks the 70th year of the foundation of Abarth & C. SRL and, at the same time, the Fiat 500 family commemorates the 40th anniversary of Carlo Abarth’s death. Click here to get a full review of the unique career of Carlo Abarth and read what the city of Torino did to commemorate this exceptionally gifted race driver. Besides, we would like to remind you of our photo contest where you can still vote for your personal favourite until Sunday, November 3. Click here to find an overview of all the candidates from which you can choose your favourite photo! The intermediate voting results can be found here. We'd also like to present the Axel Gerstl Fiat Calendar 2020. For more infos please click here. And of course, we are also proud to present the "Fiat of the month October" along with some interesting current offers and news concerning the Fiat 500, Fiat 126 and Fiat 600. We hope you enjoy reading this month's newsletter! The Axel Gerstl team |
| > 2019: 70 years of Abarth, 40th anniversary of Carlo Abarth’s death |
Carlo Abarth in the winner's wreath
Photo: Artur Fenzlau/Technisches Museum Wien 
Fiat 500 Abarth
Photo courtesy of Hans Egli 
Inauguration of the Via Carlo Abarth in Turin, 2019
Photo: Auto-Medienportal.Net/FCA 
Grave of Carlo Abarth, Grinzinger Cemetery
Photo courtesy of Hedwig Abraham http://www.viennatouristguide.at |
Double Anniversary of the “Scorpion”! 2019 is a very special year for Abarth fans: 70 years ago, Vienna-born Carlo Abarth (originally baptised under the name of Karl) founded his own company Abarth & C. SRL on November 15, 1908. The release of this newsletter almost exactly coincides with the 40th anniversary of the death of this highly gifted racing pioneer. This is a perfect reason for the Axel Gerstl team to look back at Carlo Abarth’s big career under the banner of the “scorpion,” both his zodiac sign and his trade mark. Since his early childhood, Carlo Abarth had been thrilled by speed, engines, and engineering. At the age of 16 already, right after the end of World War I, he cut his teeth in motor sports and racing as a motorcycle mechanic and racing cyclist. His time had come when one of the drivers of the Motor Thun motorcycle racing team dropped out and he had to step in. He did nothing short of consequently seizing his chance. In this first professional racing stint, he stunned the competition, being faster than all other drivers of his team and setting the best qualifying time. Building on this experience, Carlo Abarth founded his first own team in 1928, but was also successful as a design engineer, among others, with a modified motorcycle combination which, for the first time, allowed tilting when rounding curves. He rode it in 1934 in the spectacular, well-noticed Ostend-Vienna race against the legendary Orient Express train – where he won! After the end of his career as an active motorcycle racer, which he had to abandon due to various accidents and knee problems resulting from them, Carlo Abarth, together with Ferry Porsche, among others, took over the sports department of the Italian car manufacturer Cisitalia. World War II was just over. In 1949, he decided to become independent and founded Abarth & C. SRL in Bologna, together with Armando Scagliarini. The company soon moved to Torino, the traditional centre of the automobile industry in Italy, to be at the heart of the action. When Cisitalia finally became insolvent and went bankrupt, Carlo Abarth once again did not hesitate long and integrated the racing team, under the new name of Squadra Carlo Abarth, into his company. This marked the beginning of an unparalleled success story involving numerous race victories and records achieved by the Squadra Carlo Abarth under the banner of the scorpion, and the inception of the perennial Abarth myth. Soon, the name "Abarth" became synonymous with "speed", "courage" and "performance". However, his biggest achievements as a designing engineer came from his car tuning work for various Fiat, Simca, and Alfa Romeo models. He managed to turn them into racing cars and provided these models with improved exhaust systems and accessories, such as dual-barrel carburettors, special steering wheels and chassis components, making him a celebrated trailblazer of the entire car tuning industry. Especially the models based on Fiat 500 cars were extremely popular among racing enthusiasts, ranging from the Fiat Abarth 595 with 27hp to the 695 SS Corsa with more than 40hp. Before that, he had already tried himself at a sports variant of the Fiat 600: the Abarth 750 GT which earned him various records in 1956, including a new 24-hours record on the Monza circuit (3,700km at an average speed of 155km/h). By the end of the 1960ies, the motor sport industry experienced an increasing pressure on costs and the sales of tuning parts decreased noticeably. So, it was with a heavy heart that Carlo Abarth decided to sell his company to Fiat in 1971. After that, he returned to Vienna, the city of his birth. However, he still worked as an advisor for Fiat when he died on October 23 (or 24*) October 1979. Today, a street in Merano, one of Carlo Abarth’s first places of activity, is named after him. And, just in time for the 70th anniversary of the foundation of his company, and the 40th anniversary of this death, finally even Torino, the city where he recorded his greatest achievements, honours the famous race driver and car builder with a very special act. Now the Mirafiori quarter, close to the current headquarters of the Abarth company, is also graced with a street that bears his name: Via Carlo Abarth. * The various sources deviate from each other when it comes to finally dating the day of his death: while the German and Italian Wikipedia articles and his tombstone indicate October 23, 1979, the Carlo Abarth Foundation, run by Carlo Abarth’s last wife, and the English and French Wikipedia articles state October 24, 1979. |
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| > Photo Album: Fiat of the Month October |
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Fiat of the Month October If you want to present your Fiat 500, Fiat 126 or Fiat 600 to our readers, please send a photo to service. There’s no special motto, no limitation. And if you’re lucky, your Fiat will become Fiat of the month! To all previous participants: Your photo is still active and can still become Fiat of the Month in the next months. Click here to find the previous“Fiats of the month”. |
| > Axel Gerstl Fiat Calendar 2020 |
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Just arrived! The Axel Gerstl calendar 2020! The Axel Gerstl calendar is the perfect companion through the year 2020 for every Fiat fan and also a nice eye-catcher for every garage or hobby shop! Let yourself be inspired by the 12 creative and interesting motives of the photographers! (DIN A3 landscape format, 420 x 297 mm, metal spiral). Order now at a price of 9,80 Euro item no.: ZD120 A big thank-you goes to the photographers for their fantastic pictures:
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| > New items in our online shop |
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for example Model car Welly Fiat 126
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for example Set of wiper mechanism rods
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for example Capacitor made by BOSCH
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| > Offers |
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for example Set of foot mats
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for example Door panel
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for example Door handle/lock
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| > Please note |
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Subject to change, errors excepted. |
| > Contact |
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Company Axel Gerstl
Telephone: +49 - 8141/53 48 6-0
E-Mail: service |
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