Featured Auction - 1976 FIAT 124 Sport Spider Abarth Rally Stradale

Featured Auction - 1976 FIAT 124 Sport Spider Abarth Rally Stradale

Rare 'homologation special'

Estimate (€): 55,000 - 65,000.

•Three owners from new (all in Italy)
•Believed never used for competition
•Sympathetic professional restoration in 2013
•Registered in Italy

The Abarth Rally was a high-performance 'homologation special' based on the FIAT 124 Sport Spider. The Abarth Rally first become available in November '72 having been seen previously in prototype form at the Geneva Salon. Extensively revised with rallying in mind, the Abarth Rally featured independent rear suspension by McPherson struts; wider light-alloy wheels; flared wheelarches; glassfibre panels; a five-speed gearbox; limited-slip differential; an internal roll-over bar; rigid hardtop; competition seats; and a revised dashboard. The engine was a 1,736cc twin-cam producing 128bhp (DIN) in standard trim with 170bhp available in full rallying tune. Homologated in Group 2, the Abarth's 124 Spider served as FIAT's frontline rally car throughout 1973, achieving one World Championship victory, but its finest hour would come in 1975 when, this time in Group 4, Maurizio Verini won the European Rally Championship at the wheel of the final, 16-valve version. 

This stunning Stradale (road-going) version of the 124 Abarth Rally has had only three owners from new (all in Italy) and has, according to the vendor's knowledge, never been used for competition. The car was in good condition when purchased by the vendor for his exclusive private collection in 2011. In 2013 he commissioned a sympathetic restoration which involved renewing the interior (including a new instrument mounting); overhauling the suspension (all joints replaced); and professionally cleaning the engine bay. A general service was carried out at the same time and the car has not seen much use since. Described by the vendor as in generally good-to-excellent condition, it is offered with Italian registration documents, ASI homologation papers, and a CRS (Certificato di Rilevanza Storica = Certificate of Historic Relevance). Rarely do Abarth Rally Stradales come to the market as unmolested as this example.