The structure and activities of Abarth & C. S.p.A.

The Abarth & C. S.p.A. company was founded in 2007; it is owned 100% by Fiat Group Automobiles, under Chief Executive Officer Luca De Meo and divided into three areas of activity: Business Operations, Engineering & Manufacturing Operations and Racing. The first area handles products and services to customise standard production sports cars in terms of styling and performance (car kitting and tuning), organises the sales and service network, and manages merchandising and licensing activities related to the Abarth brand.

The second area guarantees the technical development, manufacture and technical tuning and service activities for racing cars, and is also responsible for the development of car kitting and car tuning products, working closely with the Fiat Group Automobiles Engineering and Design Function.

And finally, the third area coordinates Abarth’s involvement in national and international races, organises the trophies reserved for private customers, and manages relations with racing customers and sponsors. Abarth also works closely with the Petrol Engine Development division of Fiat Powertrain Technologies.

Abarth & C. is working on two fronts to support and complement the strategies for the brand’s rebirth. On one hand, by developing licensing agreements with leading operators in various commodity classes, and on the other through the company’s direct involvement in the creation of merchandising items.

An exclusive distribution network

The Abarth & C. S.p.A structure is agile and fast-moving, in the true spirit of the brand, and it has created its own exclusive distribution network, on four levels: flagship branches, dealerships, specialist tuners and service workshops.

The flagship branches are known as the ‘Officine Abarth’, and there will be four in the world (in Italy, Germany, Great Britain and Japan), representing the brand in the key markets. The Italian headquarters obviously had to be in the historical premises in Corso Marche in Turin, to demonstrate that the link with tradition is not only hypothetical but tangible and concrete.

The second level of the Abarth network is made up of the dealerships, which will be limited in number, and will guarantee a specialist, targeted relationship with all customers. The third level comprises the independent Tuners who will be recognised by the ‘Abarth Assetto corse’ sign, and they will be the real experts of the tuning possibilities and sole installers of the kits.

This guarantees respect for all the relevant environmental and safety standards and will keep the make’s hands-on character alive. And finally, the last distribution level comprises the Service workshops which maintain high standards of specialisation, technology and service, guaranteeing the necessary assistance to all Abarth customers.

The marketing network is organised to embody three of the make’s important values: sportiness, relations with the customer and safety, generating a unique ‘shopping experience’ for the customer at every Abarth showroom. The same distinctive elements will identify Abarth on the new European markets that open up in 2008.

In the first months of the year the Abarth network will move into Switzerland and Austria, followed in the Spring by Germany, Portugal, Greece, Holland and Belgium, and by Spain, the United Kingdom, France and Poland in the Summer. The expansion of the marketing network in Europe includes the inauguration of about 60 dealers, 120 specialist tuners and 180 service workshops. For example, the Swiss market, the first to be inaugurated, will have 6 dealers (in Geneva, Zurich, Cadenazzo, Biel Bienne, Spiezwiller and Basel), while Austria will soon have 4 dealers, in the cities of Vienna, Salzburg, Graz and Innsbruck.

We should underline that the choice of dealers is not random; only the best Fiat dealers have been chosen, in order to guarantee an efficient top quality service to customers. All the showrooms will be furnished with a uniform style, a true ‘concentrate’ of concepts and references to the Abarth world: history, sports cars, tuning kits, accessories, merchandising and the racing world.

The ‘Assetto’ and ‘esseesse’ kits for the Grande Punto Abarth are launched

An Open Day will be held in Italy in April to mark the official start of sales of the two tuning kits for customers of the Abarth Grande Punto 1.4 Turbo T-Jet 155 bhp.

The first tuning kit – known as the ‘Assetto’ kit – includes drilled disc brakes at the front and rear, high performance front brake pads, special low profile 15/20 mm springs, 18” alloy wheels painted white and fitted with 215/40 ZR18 Pirelli Pzero tyres. The second trim and engine tuning kit– known as the ‘esseesse’ kit – adds several features to the contents of the ‘Assetto’ kit: a special air filter ‘powered by BMC’, a Garrett turbo, twin chrome-plated exhaust terminals, a reflash of the engine control unit with ‘esseesse’ software and engine performance boosted from 155 bhp to 180 bhp, ‘esseesse’ logos on the tailgate, wing mirror covers and an engine cover.

The ‘esseesse’ and ‘Assetto’ kits, which will be delivered to customers packed in original wooden crates, to respect Abarth tradition, may only be sold and installed by the official network of Abarth ‘Assetto’ Corse tuners in the Abarth Grande Punto 1.4 Turbo T-Jet 155 bhp within one year or 20,000 km from its first registration, and will be covered by a two-year Abarth warranty from the installation date.

The selling price to the public will be Euro 2,500 for the ‘Assetto’ kit and Euro 4,500 for the ‘esseesse’ kit, including the cost of homologation formalities (which will be dealt with by the official Abarth tuner), but excluding labour costs.

And finally, any customer who tunes his Abarth Grande Punto with an ‘esseesse’ kit will be entitled to join the Abarth ‘esseesse’ Club, a community of Abarth fans, who will thus be involved directly in the events organised by the Scorpion.

The Abarth Driving School – Sandro Munari

A key concept of the Abarth philosophy is a sporty driving style on board high performance, reliable cars, protected by maximum safety. This principle, and the collaboration of the sponsor Adler Plastic have been the force behind the ‘Abarth Driving School – Sandro Munari’ project.
The school was created in collaboration with the best-known Italian rally driver of all time, and it offers young people a chance to learn the best techniques with which to combine safety with enjoyable driving every day. The importance of this collaboration becomes clearer if we remember who Sandro Munari was, a driver who turned his passion for cars into a way of life. He began racing in 1964 as a rally navigator, and continued as a driver, joining the Lancia Racing Team in 1966.

His first international success came in 1967 when he won the Tour de Corse in a Lancia Fulvia HF, taking the Italian Rally title that same year, and again in 1969. The 1970s were marked by a long list of victories: he won the Monte Carlo Rally four times – in 1972 with the Lancia Fulvia HF and in ’75, ’76, and ’77 with the Lancia Stratos – and in 1974 he won the Tour de France, and was back on the first step of the podium at the Tour de Corse in 1976. In 1977 he was World Rally Champion, a title which, together with his many wins, earned him a place on the role of honour of the world’s greatest drivers.

When his racing career ended, Sandro Munari did not abandon his great passion, but decided to make his skill and experience at the wheel available to others. The ‘Sandro Munari Guida Sicura’ school opened in 1997, a safe-driving school dedicated to all motorists who want to learn how to control their cars in all conditions and to familiarise with the indispensable rules for correct behaviour behind the wheel.

The ‘Abarth Driving School – Sandro Munari’ makes available the skills and integrity of a great driver, and technology applied to safe, high performance cars like those with the Scorpion badge. The school organises a number of courses, depending on the participants’ needs and experience, divided into hours of theory and hours of driving practice, followed by final tests which verify what participants have actually learned. After the driving test, the best three students will receive a prize, and everyone will receive a participation certificate.

This programme is part of the broader programme to give new life to the Abarth brand, and it aims to underline the importance of correct understanding of driving techniques which, combined with a technologically excellent car, will ensure greater safety on our roads. Because Abarth, quite apart from its gutsy, sporty cars, believes it is essential to raise awareness with the public, and particularly with the young, of the strategic importance of safety, prevention and highway education for any evolved society.