After leaving Cisitalia in 1948, Austrian-born engineer Carlo Abarth set himself up in Turin, the heart of Italy’s automotive industry, as an independent engineer.

What began as a small operation producing induction and exhaust systems soon evolved into supplying performance kits for production cars.

From there Abarth moved into creating a highly successful series of aerodynamically focused sports prototypes and limited-series road and competition cars.

Although Abarth became most closely associated with transforming Fiat models, the early 1960s saw Carlo developing an important relationship with Simca in France.

This partnership produced a series of tuned Simca-Abarth road cars and in 1962 a particularly attractive 1.3-litre GT coupé.

Styled in the same spirit as the Fiat-Abarth 1000, it was notable as the first car powered by a fully Abarth-designed engine.

Based on the newly introduced Simca 1000, it used that car’s chassis and suspension in extensively modified form.

The all...