Abarth, Fiat's high-performance brand (which usually makes staggeringly expensive, fast, and fun versions of the 500 hatchback) has shown off a concept sports-racer called the 1000SP.
Super-lightweight
Those of you of a historic motoring bent will recognise that's a name that Abarth has used before, back in 1966 when it created the original 1000SP, which was both a super-lightweight circuit racer and a car designed for hillclimb events (which were still a big thing in sports car racing back then).
That original 1000 Sport Prototipo was designed and built back when Abarth was still an independent tuning and racing company, owned and run by Austrian-Italian racing genius Carlo Abarth. The original 1000SP had Alfa Romeo roots - it was designed by former Alfa engineer Mario Colucci. Colucci's original Abarth designs did indeed use Alfa engines, but by the time of 1966 1000SP came about, Abarth had switched to a highly-tuned engine based on that of the Fiat 600.
Class win at the Nurburgring
Back in '66, the 1000SP was hugely successful, actually winning its class at that year's Nurburgring 500km race, and as it's the 55th anniversary this year, Abarth has decided to mark the date with this one-off update of the original.
The idea was to recreate that stripped-back sports-racer aesthetic, but with modern mechanicals. The 1000SP concept has no roof, and side-glass that's carefully shaped to blend in with the styling and the rear roll-hoop. At the rear, you'll find a layout of exhaust, rear air vents, and round taillights that almost perfectly mimics the look of the '66 original.
Alfa turbo engine with 240hp
Underneath, there's a carbon-and-aluminium chassis (Abarth isn't saying so directly, but we reckon it's very closely related to that of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spyder) that uses overlapping triangular front suspension and a McPherson strut setup at the rear. Power comes from an Alfa Romeo-derived 1742-cc four-cylinder turbo unit, developing 240hp.
Hardly surprisingly, it's not a preview of a serious production model, but simply a tribute to a glorious racing past, which Abarth says will be on display and running at various classic car events later this year.