Carlo Abarth was born under the sign of Scorpio and put his star sign on the exhausts he sold. Since 1949 the scorpion has marked small cars built to behave like one.
- Country
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Italy - Active
- Since 1949
- Founded by
- Carlo Abarth, Guido Scagliarini
- Website
- Official website ↗
A boy, a wooden scooter and a leather belt
Carlo Abarth was eleven when he wrapped a leather belt around the wooden wheels of his scooter to make it go faster. That is how Abarth itself tells the story, and it is a fitting start for a man who spent his life making small things quick.
He was born on 15 November 1908 on the outskirts of Vienna. As a teenager he won cycling races, and by twenty he was winning on motorcycles. His most famous stunt was a race against a train: on a motorbike with a sidecar he beat the Orient Express over more than 850 miles from Vienna to Ostend. A serious accident in 1939 ended his racing career. In 1945 he moved to Merano, his father’s homeland, and became an Italian citizen.
After a short spell as racing director at Cisitalia, he set up on his own. Abarth & C. was founded in Turin on 31 March 1949, together with the racing driver Guido Scagliarini. The company name is simply the founder’s surname. The first car, the 204A, was derived from the Fiat 1100, and on 10 April 1950 Tazio Nuvolari drove one to a category win in the Palermo-Monte Pellegrino hill climb. It was the great driver’s last race and the young company’s first victory.
Racing cars were only half the business. Abarth also sold tuning kits for ordinary production cars, and its exhaust systems became the best seller. Those exhausts are where most people first met the scorpion.
Why a scorpion, and how it changed
The explanation is personal. Carlo Abarth was born under the sign of Scorpio, and he put his star sign on the parts he sold. According to Stellantis, the scorpion came to stand for speed, courage, performance and development. The cars were meant to be the same thing: small and mean, just like a scorpion.
The badge has been redrawn many times, and Stellantis has published the sequence. The scorpion of 1949 was a realistic one. In 1954 Carlo Abarth placed a two-tone shield behind it, described as the emblem of victories in sporting battles. The result, a scorpion on a yellow-and-red shield, became the symbol of the company.
Then came the trophies. In 1962 the Abarth 1000 Bialbero won the first of six consecutive manufacturers world championships, and the logo gained three new elements: a black-and-white chequered flag, the words Campione del mondo in red block letters on yellow, and a stylised laurel wreath.
A 1969 refresh simplified things. The scorpion became more stylised and completely black, with both pincers pointing upward, and the lettering turned white on a blue background, reading simply Abarth. Two years later Fiat took over the company, and an Italian flag was placed behind the name to underline the brand’s Italian character.
The modern badge dates from 2007, when the logo was completely redesigned. The black scorpion now rests its pincers on the diagonal of the shield. For the brand’s 70th birthday in 2019, a shield with a chequered flag appeared on the cars built that year, and the Limited Edition 695 70th Anniversary got a colour badge of its own. Only 1,949 of those were made, a nod to the founding year.
Records at Monza and titles on gravel
Abarth never built big cars. It built small ones and then asked too much of them, at Monza, on hill climbs and on rally stages. Stellantis counts ten world speed and distance records and 133 international records to the scorpion’s name.
Landmark Abarths, decade by decade
- 1949: 204A. The first Abarth, developed from the Fiat 1100. It won the 1100 Sport Championship and gave Nuvolari his final victory in 1950.
- 1956: Fiat Abarth 750. A low, streamlined Bertone body. In June 1956 it covered 3,743 km in 24 hours at Monza, averaging more than 155 km/h, the first of the brand’s 133 international records.
- 1958: Fiat 500 by Abarth. The tuned city car set six world speed and distance records at Monza. Fiat then agreed to pay Abarth a bonus for every win and record.
- 1962: 1000 Bialbero. Won the first of six consecutive manufacturers world championships in Division One.
- 1977: Fiat 131 Abarth. Brought Fiat the World Rally Championship manufacturers’ title in 1977, 1978 and 1980, when Walter Röhrl also took the drivers’ crown.
- 2008: Abarth 500. Followed the 2007 Grande Punto, the first model of the brand’s return to the road and to racing. The 124 Spider joined in 2016.
- 2022: 500e. The first electric Abarth. The 600e of 2024 became the most powerful production Abarth so far.
Fiat bought the company from Carlo Abarth in 1971, and the last production car he worked on was the Autobianchi A112 Abarth. He died in 1979. Today the scorpion belongs to Stellantis, which keeps the brand’s archive at the Heritage Hub in Turin alongside Alfa Romeo and Lancia. One special edition even carried a prancing horse: the 695 Tributo Ferrari of 2010. For more on how badges like these come together, see how car logos are designed.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Abarth logo a scorpion?
Because founder Carlo Abarth was born under the sign of Scorpio, on 15 November 1908. He put the scorpion on his exhaust parts, and according to Stellantis it came to stand for speed, courage, performance and development.
When did the current Abarth logo appear?
The logo was completely redesigned in 2007, with the black scorpion’s pincers resting on the diagonal of the shield. A chequered-flag shield was used on cars built in 2019 for the 70th anniversary.
What do the colours of the Abarth shield mean?
The two-tone shield was added in 1954 as the emblem of victories in sporting battles, and Stellantis describes it as a scorpion on a yellow-and-red shield. No official explanation of the individual colours has been published.
Who owns Abarth today?
Fiat acquired Abarth in 1971, which is when the Italian flag appeared behind the name. The brand is now part of Stellantis.
The scorpion's record book
- Founded
- 1949
- Founder
- Carlo Abarth, Guido Scagliarini
- Country
- Italy
- Headquarters
- Turin, Italy
- Parent company
- Stellantis
- Current emblem
- A black scorpion on a shield, redesigned in 2007, with the Abarth name over an Italian flag
- Known for
- Hot Fiat 500s, tuning kits and speed records at Monza
- Website
- Official website ↗
