


In just over 100 years, Fiat has grown from a small factory in Turin with about 35 workers to the global automotive brand it is today. The original 1936 Fiat 500, the Topolino, was the smallest mass-produced car of its time and boasted a 13 horsepower engine. In 1955, Fiat debuted the Topolino's successor, the 600, the company's first rear-wheel-drive car. In 1969, Ferrari became a part of the Fiat group, and the two companies teamed up to create a 160 horsepower V6 that Ferrari used to build its Dino GT and Fiat used to create the Dino Spyder and Coupe. In 1972, Fiat launched the Bertone-designed X1/9, a wedge-shaped, mid-engined, two-seater sports car. In 1909, Italian-Australian Carlo Abarth founded Abarth, a racing car manufacturer, in Turin, Italy. In 1971, Abarth was sold and became the racing department for Fiat. The most famous Abarth car was the Autobianchi A112 Abarth, which proved very popular on the rally racing circuits. Abarth also prepared the Fiat Group's rally cars, including the Fiat 124 Abarth and the 131 TC. In 2007, Fiat relaunched the brand with the Grande Punto Abarth and the Grande Punto Abarth S2000. Also in 2007, the company introduced a new version of the Fiat 500 - the Fiat Nuova 500. The Abarth 500 SS is the performance model of the Fiat 500.

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