Abarth Fiat-Abarth 595 History
The original Scorpion — a tuned Fiat 500 that became Abarth's defining icon, with just 594 cc wringing astonishing performance from Italy's people's car.
Photo: “FIAT ABARTH 595 (1964)” by KKPCW（Kyu3） / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
History
Carlo Abarth unveiled the Fiat-Abarth 595 at the Turin Motor Show on 31 October 1963. Based on the air-cooled, rear-engined Fiat 500, Abarth bored and stroked the twin-cylinder engine from 479 cc to 593 cc, added a higher-compression head, and extracted around 27 hp — roughly double the standard car's output — from an engine the size of a motorcycle's.
Produced in two series, the first (1963–1965) used the 500 D bodyshell and the second (1965–1971) switched to the 500 F body. The companion 695 variant, shown at Geneva in March 1964, pushed displacement to 689 cc and up to 38 hp in SS form. Together the 595 and 695 established Abarth's philosophy: maximum performance from minimum engine, achieved through precision engineering rather than brute displacement.
Production ran until 1971 when Fiat acquired Abarth. The cars won countless European hillclimb championships in their classes and created a template — hot Fiat 500 with a Scorpion badge — that Abarth would return to triumphantly four decades later.
Generations
First series (500 D body) · 595 / 595SS
Photo: “FIAT ABARTH 595 (1964)” by KKPCW（Kyu3） / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Original 593 cc tuned Fiat 500, using the older 500 D bodyshell.
1964 Photo: “FIAT ABARTH 595 (1964)” by KKPCW（Kyu3） / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Second series (500 F body) · 595 / 695 / 695SS
Photo: “1969 Fiat Abarth 595 (24836035994)” by Jeremy from Sydney, Australia / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Updated to the 500 F body; the 695 and 695SS joined the range with up to 38 hp.
1969 Photo: “1969 Fiat Abarth 595 (24836035994)” by Jeremy from Sydney, Australia / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Body styles
- 2-door saloon
Notable special editions & performance variants
Fiat-Abarth 695 SS
Top-specification variant with a 689 cc engine producing 38 hp, a raised camshaft, lightened connecting rods, and a top speed of approximately 140 km/h.
Related models
Collect the nameplate
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