As soon as the Fiat Nuova 500 was shown at the 1957 Turin Salon. Abarth produced the Fiat 500 Abarth with 20bhp instead of 13bhp. In 1958 the Fiat 500 Abarth was tuned to give 26bhp and sent to Monza where it averaged 107KmH for seven days. The Abarth 595 followed in 1963 with engine enlarged to 595cc, and the SS version was even more powerful at 34bhp. In 1965 the Abarth 695 was produced with up to 50bhp depending on level of tuning, the 'SS' (or esse-esse) versions being produced for racing.
Abarth 695 SS - Scorpion badge, the star sign of the founder and used for cars 'with a sting in their tail'
Abarth 695 SS - bootlid badgees
Abarth 695 SS. The origins of this Abarth as a Fiat 500 are clear in this view
Abarth 695 SS. Forty brake horsepower (sometimes even 50) made this little Abarth a class winner
Fiat Abarth 595 1970. Abarth parts were available to Fiat 500 owners to build their own cars, from simple tuning kits, to engines and chassis/body mods.
Fiat Abarth 595 1970. The official '595 esse-esse' had more body modifications than this one and better badging. However, the 594cc 34bhp engine could be added to existing Fiat 500 cars along with other Abarth kit
Fiat Abarth 695 1973.
Fiat Abarth 695 1973. The Fiat Abarth 695 was a Fiat 500F fiited with Carl Abarth's 689cc engine. There were hotter SS ('esse-esse') versions for track use.
Abarth 695 SS. The Abarth 595 was introduced in 1963, and then developed further to give the 40bhp 695 SS.
Abarth 695 SS. The engine cover was propped permanently open to allow cooling, and an oil cooler hangs from the lid. Since most 695 cars were sold for track use the open engine was not a problem.
