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With its elegant lines and sleek roofline, this small Abarth 205 has continued to cause a stir since its release at the 1951 Turin Auto Show. Not surprisingly so, since our feature car is the product of Karl Abarth's engineering skills combined with graceful styling of Giovanni Michelotti.

After establishing himself as a talented engineer, three-time motor cycle champion Karl Abarth began constructing his own cars. At the time, Abarth had been laid off from bankrupt Cisitalia but continued to race their cars while at the same time developing his own. The Abarth 205 as seen here was his first.

For the 1949 season, Abarth's race team relied on cycle-winged Cisitalia 204As to win the Formula 2 Championship for sports cars. Much more than a renamed Cisitalia, Abarth's 204 had a unique chassis and a more developed engine. The final version of this successful car was the 205 Coupe.

Alfredo Vignale created this coupe body for the 205 based on sketches penned by Giovanni Michelotti. With this design, Michelotti had successfully adopted his interpretation of the trend-setting Cisitalia 202, a car renowned for evolving automotive style.

Two of these 205 coupes were constructed to race the 1950 Mille Miglia. They both attained mediocre results and, at the end of the season, one was converted into a regular passenger car. With its jewel-like appearance, this new coupe won several concours awards, and helped to promote Abarth's extensive catalogue of tuning accessories.

Our feature 205 has a colorful history, including resurrection from a savage warehouse fire that rendered the car almost unrecognizable. Its current owner, Scott Emsley, discovered the deformed car and spent half a decade restoring it back to its original Turin show condition. Once restored, the Abarth 205 made its second debut at the 1990 Pebble Beach Concours, taking second in class only behind one of the famous Bertone B.A.T.s.

Story by Richard Owen, edited by Janine Reistma for Supercars.net