Autobianchi A112 Abarth, 1984

The Autobianchi A112 was presented at the Turin motor Show in 1969. The car was presented in the subcompact car or ‘super-mini’ class. The A112 was the ideal city car with a mechanical layout that was introduced with the Autobianchi Primula and which was also used on the A111 and the Fiat 128. The car featured a transversely mounted four cylinder in-line engine, and in depended sprung wheels all round. The rear wheels were sprung by a transverse mounted leaf spring, a superb Autobianchi / Fiat construction which was also used successfully on Cooper racing cars of the 1950s! The A112 engine was derived from the Fiat 850. This was a superb engine which was used in Autobianchi, Fiat and Lancia cars for over 25 years! The A112 was built in seven consecutive model series until 1986! The Autobianchi A112 Abarth was developed in cooperation with Abarth. The engine was tuned to 58 bhp, and the Abarth was given a special optical treatment with a matte black bonnet, matte black painted sills, and wheel arches. The interior received seats with headrests and the full array of sporty instruments like a rev counter, oil-pressure, and ammeter. Special alloy wheels and Abarth badges finished off this great ‘Italian Mini Cooper’ as it was nicknamed by the press. In concept a bit alike but the Abarth is ‘much more car’ and in my opinion possibly the inspiration for the later Golf GTI. The most powerful A112 Abarth version, the 70 HP, was presented in 1975. The 58 HP version was discontinued in 1976.

Technical data (Abarth 70 HP)

Four cylinder in-line engine
cast iron block, aluminium cylinder head
cylinder capacity: 1050 cc
induction: 1 twin choke Weber 32 DMTR
capacity: 70 DIN bhp at 6600 rpm
torque: 87 Nm at 4100 rpm
top-speed: 100 mph – 160 km / h
gearbox: 4-speed, manual
brakes: servo assisted, discs at front, drums at the rear
weight: 700 kg.