Since this is still in the Malaise Era, I was tempted to put the tag “Malaise-O-Rama” with it, but decided not to do it. This is a very obscure car that wasn’t quite available here in the states, at least to my knowledge. So what do you think of the rarefied Italian hatchback?


According to the listing:

The Abarth name has been around in it’s full racing glory since the 1950’s. Carlo Abarth was famous for small output motors that won hundreds of races during his hey-day starting w/about 600cc motor’s thru his top performers having over 2000cc’s. This example of a late model factory authorized Abarth was made by Fiat/Lancia under the Autobianchi nameplate in Italy. It was Italy’s version of an econobox that competed against the UK’s Mini Cooper. The A112 had many different models to choose from. he most interesting version was the A112 Abarth, introduced in 1971. It was prepared by the motorsports division of the Fiat Group, at first with a 982 cc engine, obtained increasing the stroke, coupled to a sportive exhaust, a twin 2 barrel carburetor & a different camshaft. In 1975, displacement was increased to 1049 cc, while power climbed from 57 HP to 70 HP at 6600 rpm, w/a weight of only 1,543 lbs. It was much admired by young performance enthusiasts. The car was entered in various rallying events throughout Europe and even spawned a one-make trophy race. Rarely seen in the US, this A112 was imported from Italy by a Dutchman in Texas 6 years ago. It is a wonderful example of a front engine/front drive car that performs like no others. It is in great original condition having all of it’s original paintwork, interior & trim from new. It’s light Blue metallic paint is faded a bit, but still appears beautiful. It’s tan velour & vinyl interior is quite comfy & very sporty down to it’s 2 spoke Abarth steering wheel. It has a mere 69,000 kilometers which translate to only 43,000 original miles. It was also featured in a Euro magazine a few years back. It has an 8000 RPM redline w/power to burn rubber, thanx to the technical aspect of the Abarth design. The Abarth extras include a front hood scoop that draws cool air into it’s motor & makes that complicated carb do it’s thing. It has upgraded suspension & exhaust system to really push this little car fast ! It also has a set of 13″ Campy wheels that look period correct. Dare to be different ?

The buy-it-now price is $17,500, which it just a bit rich for this particular car. See the eBay listing here. So, what do you think this car should really sell for, and would you ever consider an Autobianchi, or even any Abarth model? Let me know in the comments.