Abarath

Carlo Abarth served as sporting director of the Cisitalia racing team from 1947. When Cisitalia collapsed in 1948 and its founder Piero Dusio departed to Argentina, Abarth — funded by Armando Scagliarini — acquired the company's assets and established his own firm. From the liquidation he obtained five 204 sports cars (two complete Spiders and three unfinished chassis), a D46 single-seater, and spare parts. These Cisitalia 204s were immediately renamed Abarth Cisitalia 204A and became the foundation of early competition activity.

The Squadra Abarth racing team fielded celebrated drivers including Tazio Nuvolari, Franco Cortese, and Piero Taruffi. Nuvolari's final competitive appearance came at the wheel of an Abarth 204A, when he won his class at the 1950 Palermo–Monte Pellegrino hillclimb on 10 April 1950. Alongside racing, Abarth's commercial activity centred on producing and selling performance accessories — inlet manifolds, silencers and tuning kits — for Fiat, Lancia, Cisitalia, and Simca road cars.

The company relocated its headquarters to Turin on 9 April 1951. In 1952, Abarth established a formal relationship with Fiat, building the Abarth 1500 Biposto on Fiat mechanicals. A landmark commercial deal followed in 1957, whereby Fiat paid Abarth direct fees for each successful competition result. This arrangement drove Abarth to enter events around the world in virtually every available class from 850 cc to 2000 cc, competing against Porsche 904 and Ferrari Dino at the upper echelons. Hans Herrmann drove as a factory driver from 1962 to 1965, winning the 500 km Nürburgring in 1963 with Teddy Pilette.

The company also supplied performance exhaust systems for Lambretta motorcycles in the 1950s, with the 1950s "D" and "LD" models benefiting from Abarth-developed pipes; Lambretta set several 125 cc land speed records during this period. In 1958, Abarth collaborated with Alfa Romeo on a one-off project, the Abarth Alfa Romeo 1000. The resulting engineer, Mario Colucci, was subsequently appointed Abarth's Technical Director in 1960 and went on to design the successful Group 4 1000 SP mid-engined sports prototype.

In addition to Guido Scagliarini's backing, notable external business included shared development work with Porsche and Simca. An arrangement with Johann Abt saw Abt offered free factory entry if he won every race he entered; Abt won 29 of 30 races and finished second in the one he did not win, later going on to found the Abt Sportsline team.

Carlo Abarth sold the company to Fiat on 31 July 1971. The racing sport prototype operations were taken over by Enzo Osella, who obtained cars, spares, technicians, and drivers — including Arturo Merzario — and continued in competition as the Osella racing team. Under Fiat ownership, Abarth became the group's dedicated racing department, managed by engine designer Aurelio Lampredi, focusing on rally car preparation. Notable products of this era included the Fiat 124 Abarth Rally and the Fiat 131 Abarth.

In December 1977, Fiat merged the Abarth and Lancia factory racing divisions into a single entity named EASA (Ente per l'Attività Sportiva Automobilistica). Cesare Fiorio, previously head of the Lancia rally operation, was appointed director, with Daniele Audetto as sporting director. The merged department developed the Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo Group 5 car, which won the 1980 World Championship for Makes and the 1981 World Endurance Championship of Makes. It also created the Lancia Rally 037 Group B car, which won the 1983 World Manufacturers' Championship for Lancia.

On 1 October 1981, Abarth & C. ceased to exist as a separate entity, replaced by Fiat Auto Gestione Sportiva. The Abarth name continued to be applied to performance-oriented Fiat and Autobianchi road cars through the 1980s and 1990s, including the Autobianchi A112 Abarth, for which a dedicated trophy series ran from 1977 to 1984.

On 1 February 2007, Abarth was re-established as an independent company — Abarth & C. S.p.A. — wholly controlled by Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. The revived brand is based at Officine 83, part of the old Mirafiori engineering plant in Turin. The first models launched under the new company were the Abarth Grande Punto and the Abarth Grande Punto S2000. The current product range includes the Abarth 500, 595, 695, and the electric Abarth 600e. In 2017, Abarth collaborated with Yamaha to produce a limited-edition motorcycle, the XSR900 Abarth, based on the inline-triple Yamaha XSR900.

Following the 2007 revival, Abarth re-engaged with motorsport through the FIA R-GT Cup, a circuit-racing category for road-derived GT machinery. The brand achieved championship success in the R-GT Cup in 2018, 2019, and 2020.