Abarth Scorpione EsseEsse - from barn find to Concours beauty

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Abarth Scorpione EsseEsse - from barn find to Concours beauty

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Created on February 5, 2019

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

42

Tobias Mächler

11

Bruno von Rotz

3

Archiv

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - looks a bit like a frog with its folding headlights

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - also withstands the rain

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - the flat front is not completely visible

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - this was the perspective from which limousine drivers usually saw it at the time

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - the open headlights change the look substantially

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - the visibility to the rear is not quite optimal

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - you sit low in the two-seater

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - it ran at almost 180 km/h back then

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - very easy to drive

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - the 1.3-liter delivers enough power for speedy progress

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Red fits very well as a color

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Driving pleasure comes with clear performance attributes

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - no chrome bells and whistles

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - the basis was provided by Francis Lombardi

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - flat front, high rear - typical of a rear-engined car

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - everything clearly arranged

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - sporty interior, instruments in the center console

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Speedometer up to 200 km/h

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - bucket seats for the reclining position

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Cooling air for the engine

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - narrow access to the engine

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - limited access to the engine

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - the four-cylinder base engine comes from the Fiat parts shelf

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - water also runs through these openings in the rain

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - folded out headlight

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - the folding process of the headlight takes about 1-2 seconds

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - the trademark on the hood

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Drop center rims

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Rear-view mirror mounted far forward

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - the scorpion on the wheel cover

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - no door handles

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Ventilation for the cockpit

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - simple closures

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - round rear lights

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - clear lettering

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Fuel filler cap

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Restoration - how the Scorpione was found

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - restoration - stored halfway dry

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - restoration - largely completely preserved

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Restoration - lots of dirt, but largely intact bodywork

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Restoration - on the way to the painter

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Restoration - Body ready for repainting

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Restoration - ready for paintwork

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - restoration - primed

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - restoration - finished paint job

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - restoration - repainted

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - Restoration - completely overhauled mechanics

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Lombardi 850 Grand Prix (1969) - on the Lombardi stand in the hall of special bodies at the Turin Motor Show

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Lombardi 850 Grand Prix (1968) - the pretty rear-engined coupé by Francis Lombardi, the sliding side windows later disappeared in favor of a conventional solution

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Lombardi 850 Grand Prix (1968) - Francois Lombardi fitted the 850 with a pretty plastic body

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Lombardi 850 Grand Prix (1971) - only the later models have the adjustable louvers on the hood

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Lombardi 850 Grand Prix (1970) - Varied rear section

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Lombardi 850 Grand Prix (1971) - Dimensions

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Abarth 1300 Scorpione S (1971) - the shape was identical to the Lombardi 850 Grand Prix

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Abarth 1300 Scorpione (1969) - flat front with folding headlights

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Abarth 1300 Scorpione (1969) - the headlights fold upwards electrically

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Abarth 1300 Scorpione 1300 (1969) - Interior identical to the Lombardi 850 Grand Prix with the exception of details

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Abarth Scorpione (1970) - with the dashboard in the middle, Abarth solves the problem of left or right-hand drive

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Abarth 1300 Scorpione (1970) - rear view - from a sales brochure

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Abarth 1300 Scorpione (1970) - front view - from a sales brochure

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Abarth 1300 Scorpione S (1970) - pretty coupé, often built in bright colors

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Abarth Scorpione - the fast version of the Lombardi at a dealer - Retro Classics Stuttgart 2015

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Abarth 1300 Scorpione (1970) - with 1.3-liter engine offered for EUR 63,500 - Auto e Moto d'Epoca 2018

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Abarth Scorpione SS (1973) - this hot runabout was not for sale

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Summary

Two seats, sleeping eyes, engine behind the crew - this is also how a Lamborghini Miura can be described. Or an Abarth Scorpione, which remained similarly exclusive. This was based on the Lombardi 850 Grand Prix, which in turn had the technology of the Fiat 850 under its body. With Abarth, it was allowed to have a little more, i.e. 1.3 liters of displacement and around 75 hp. This report, which is illustrated with historical and current pictures as well as a sales brochure, explains how this Mini-Miura drives and how it came about. The sound sample is also included.

This article contains the following chapters

Template Lombardi
Platform strategy
Available in two versions
Only built for three years
A veritable barn find
Mini-Miura
Further information

Estimated reading time: 9min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Two seats, sleeping eyes, engine behind the crew - this is also how a Lamborghini Miura can be described. Or an Abarth Scorpione, which remained similarly exclusive. The fact that the Abarth Scorpione became more widely known in our part of the world less than 50 years ago is probably thanks to the magazine 'hobby'. A certain Urs Zulauf from Switzerland apparently turned up one day with his rear-engined sports car in front of the editorial office to show off his fast racer. Writer Heinz Kranz then wrote an entertaining report in which the Abarth is explained in a question-and-answer game. It read something like this:

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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