Double Trouble: ’59 Abarth 750 Zagato
Carlo Abarth saw an opportunity when the Fiat 600 was launched in 1955. Abarth developed a 750cc version of the 633cc engine and sold them to dealers to retrofit to stock 600s. Carlo also built complete cars in his factory for street and competition use. The best known of these were the lightweight Zagato-bodied cars. The 750 Abarth Zagato was introduced to the racing world in 1956. It was an immediate success in a variety of European events. It swept the first three places in the 750cc class at the 1957 Mille Miglia. Across the Atlantic, the 750GT, nicknamed the “Double Bubble” for the distinctive roof bumps, were successful on the U.S. circuits.
There aren’t a lot of these around but we spotted a potentially restore-able example today on Craigslist. The seller says that most everything comes with the car but one needs to be careful and find out what’s not included. It isn’t the easiest car to get parts for particularly trim and interior bits. For example, it is missing the front and rear “glass”. Safelight isn’t going to be much help there. The asking price for this hulk is $38,000. With nice examples going for near $100 grand who knows. If you have a stockpile of Double Bubble parts maybe this one is for you. Click here for the listing.