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With resources and talent from the defunct Cisitalia Automobili, Carlos Abarth started his own company called Abarth & C. in Turin and the 204 A roadster was his first car. He acquired the remnants of Cisitalia including the 204 which he had modified by Porsche to fit their torsion bar rear suspension.

Visually the cars appeared like a scaled-down version of the Cisitalia grand prix cars. The engine was derived from a Fiat 1089cc unit fitted with twin Webers.

The car was successfully raced in the 1949 season by the Cisitalia-Carlo Abarth Team in the 1200cc class. After wins by Pierro Taruffi at the Circuit of Reggio Emilia and the Aosta-Gran San Bernardo, it looked like Abarth was set to take the Grand Prix of Madrid. Unfortunately all the 204s failed, leaving victory to the Simca-Gordini. That year Taruffi still clinched the F2 title for sports cars.

By 1950, Abarth removed all the Cisitalia logos from the 204 and prepared extensively for Tazio Nuvolari's drive in the 10th Giro de Sicilia. At 57 years old, this was Nuvolari's last stab at professional racing. He won the Palmero-Monte Pellegrino hillcimb which was his last victory in professional racing. Nuvolari retired from the team before the great Sicilian race.

Story by Richard Owen

Videos

Tazio Nuvolari prova la Cisitalia Abarth 204

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Date Added:Tue, Jun 5, 7:05 PM