Fiat Abarth 850 TC celebrates its 60th
It has been 60 years since the birth of the Fiat Abarth 850 TC.
This was the first Scorpion car featuring the “Turismo Competizione” designation.
In 2020, Abarth posted 50% market share increase compared to 2019. This trend has continued in the first four months of 2021 and was boosted by the release of the 2021 Abarth 595 line-up and the refreshed 595 Turismo and 595 Competizione.
The 1961 Abarth 850 TC, the origins of the Scorpion brand legend
“During the 1960s and their economic miracle, Fiat took Italy onto the road with the 500 and 600. Carlo Abarth succeeded in producing manageable, high-performance cars that thrashed their competitors on European tracks, resulting in the legend of the Scorpion brand. In February 1961, the brand’s founder made one of the most fortunate transformations in his career: the Fiat-Abarth 850 TC.”
He took as a starting point the Fiat 600 D and by increasing the output of various engine components, engine power was increased to about 40kW. Top speed increased to 140km/h and thus necessitated replacing the drum brakes with disc brakes.
Much success on the track followed. “To get an idea of this, a mention must go to the 1961 500km, a race on the legendary Nordschleife at the Nürburgring circuit in Germany. To celebrate this feat, a special series was created. Known as the Fiat Abarth 850 TC Nürburgring, it was followed shortly after by the new, even higher-performance 850 TC Corsa/65 version. As well as all the sporting prizes it won, the Abarth 850 TC was praised for the elegance of its interior, featuring a Jaeger dashboard and three-spoke aluminum steering wheel.
“Indeed, the abbreviation ‘TC’ has its own story to tell too. Not only did it evoke its forerunner, the 850 TC, it later also took on a technical meaning, for example, in the Abarth Ritmo TC 125: in fact, TC (“twin cam”, in this case) referred to the twin camshaft distribution in the crown of the engine.
“The 595 Turismo and the 595 Competizione is aimed at purists, those who love performance and sportiness with no holds barred, those who want to enjoy themselves on the road the same way they do on the track, those who never give up turning a trip into an extraordinary experience,” said Abarth.
These cars are fitted with Euro 6D-Final-compliant 1.4 T-Jet engine, developing 123kW in the Turismo and 135kW in the Competizione.
Source: QuickPic
