In Pictures: 1959 Fiat Abarth 750 Zagato Coupe
The restoration of this little car took almost a quarter of a century
The Fiat Abarth 750 Zagato was born of a meeting between Abarth and Zagato at the Turin car show in 1955, in which the pair decided using the engine and underpinnings of Fiat?s new 600 econo model, suitably tweaked by Abarth and clad in exotic alloy bodywork by Zagato would be a good idea.
1959 Fiat Abarth owned by Mark Doust. The two-seat coupe has unique double roof bulges which match air intakes on the rear engine cover. These cars first appeared at the 1956 Turin auto show and some 600 would be built before production ended in 1960.
Owner Mark Doust drove it on the street before his insurance company took fright and decided it didn?t want to have anything more to do with a hand-built, aluminum-bodied Italian exotic ? even a little one.
Weighing less than 600 kg, its performance is lively - top speed is about 170 km/h - and so far reliable. "I have no problem hammering it down the 401," says Doust.
1959 Fiat Abarth: Collectors, who know exactly what they are, are paying in the $90,000 range for the little roadsters.