Before he founded Italy’s most famous tuning house, before he became Europe’s preeminent manufacturer of giant-slaying automobiles, and before he was an Italian named Carlo, Signore Abarth was Herr Karl Abarth, an Austrian five-time European motorcycle racing champ.

Following a post-WWII move to his ancestral Merano (and skipping ahead a bit), Abarth’s cars became a dominant force in small-to-medium displacement European racing, even bringing hot competition directly to Porsche 904’s and Ferrari’s Dinos in 2000 cc classes.

Abarth machines based on the humble Fiat 600, such as the auction car, were no less impressive, winning endurance races at the Nürburgring and racking up countless class victories in touring car competition, all while contributing to seven consecutive manufacturer’s titles for Carlo’s eponymous works.

Authentic Berlina Derivaziones are a real scarcity, and few if any are as properly built and prepped as the auction example.

The car is sold with a letter of authen...