94 | GOODWOOD REVIVAL SALE(^216) *
1962 abarth 1000 SPort 131-mC SPiDer tUbolare
CoaChwork by abarth/caRRozzeRia beCCariS
Chassis no. 131-003
When Mario Colucci arrived at Abarth & C in 1960 he was fresh
from the experience of design involvement with the Alfa Romeo
TZ. From that basis what the Italian press described as “a
new constructional philosophy for racing cars” was launched,
introducing multi-tubular spaceframe or ‘trellis’ chassis structures
and with the power unit centrally-mounted within the wheelbase.
This permitted the installation of the Abarth twin-cam 4-cylinder
engines of varying capacity, dependent upon the demands of
differing regulation categories, race circuits, against-the-clock
mountain climbs, etc.
Under Colucci’s direction the first Fiat Abarth Spider Tubolare
was first raced in 1961 as the minimum sports-prototype racing
car for the most committed of factory and private owner/drivers
alike. Simplicity was Colucci’s signature in the little Spider
Tubolare’s configuration, with hand-beaten aluminium body
panels comprising the hinged nose and tail ‘clamshell’ sections,
separate sills and cockpit door panels, the whole body very much
taking its lead from the already long-established practices of such
British sports-racing car manufacturers as Lotus, Lola, Elva and
others. We cannot be certain but we believe the body was made
to an Abarth in-house design by the local specialist Carrozzeria
Beccaris....but we stand to be corrected upon this attribution.
From very early in the Spider Tubolare’s career an Abarth-
developed five-speed transaxle gearbox was tried, developed
from the standard production Fiat 600 system. Cast-magnesium
road wheels made by Amadori and later Campagnolo were
promoted as having been designed by Carlo Abarth himself.
The original Colucci-designed Abarth Spider Tubolare was built
upon a 2040mm wheelbase, powered by a Bialbero 4-cylinder
twin-cam engine displacing just 747cc, the car’s target being the
relevant capacity class at the Le Mans 24-Hour race, no less. With
its little engine producing some 75bhp at 7,300rpm the Spider
Tubolare was claimed to be capable of 200km/h - c. 124mph.
A 1456-1459cc 4-cylinder engine derived from that of the Simca
Abarth 1300 would later be used in Spider Tubolare sports-
prototype chassis into the summer of 1962, while within Italian
and European mountain-climbing circles the 1000cc twin-cam
unit proved a most popular option in this ultra low, ultra-light little
skateboard of a chassis/body unit.