Abarth 1500 Biposto Bertone
NEW MAGNIFICENT ABARTH IN MOTUL
Historic Poland Rally Championship ?
Not quite yet , though but this car would be a superstar star of any rally !
The Abarth 1500 Biposto Bertone, presented in 1952 at the Turin Motor Show, was a sensation. The futuristic, jet-like appearance made the car ahead of its time. Immediately after the end of the fair, it was bought by Packard, which wanted to use it as a model for their new cars.
The design of the Abarth 1500 Biposto Bertone was prepared by Franco Scaglione. The car was intended to show Abarth's ability to design sports cars. The body was 4.5 m long, under the hood of the car weighing 870 kg there was a two-cylinder 1.5-liter engine with 73 HP.
The car was presented at the Motor Show in Turin in 1952, where it aroused great interest not only among visitors, but also representatives of automotive concerns, especially the American Packard. Bill Graves and Edward Macauley, Packard's deputy chief technical officer and chief designer at the plant, who were present at the show, decided to buy the Abarth 1500 and bring it to Detroit, where it would serve as inspiration for new car designs.
Unfortunately, at the same time there were changes in the top positions in the company, and thus the company's policy has changed. The Abarth 1500 Biposto Bertone was not used during the development of new cars and was left unused for a year. In mid-1953, it was given to Dick Smith as a reward for helping to create a new advertising slogan for Packard. Smith used it for about twenty years, then returned it to the garage. Left to its fate, the car slowly deteriorated, but in 2003 it was put up for sale. The new owner was Chris M. Drake, a car collector who refurbished the Abarth for the next seven years. The work was completed in 2010 and since then the Abarth 1500 Biposto Bertone has been appearing at various automotive events in the USA, where it continues to inspire admiration with its amazing appearance. It is worth noting that Franco Scaglione in the following years designed a few more futuristic concept cars, which were distinguished by their amazing looks and performance. Their history, however, is entirely related to the creation of the 1500 model.
