Abarth Record Bertone

Beginning in 1956, the Abarth factory set out on an ambitious project to break a number of FIA international and world land speed records. The first car to come of this project was the Abarth Record Bertone. Building the car on the chassis of a Fiat 600, Abarth commissioned a special streamlined body from Carrozzeria Bertone in Turin, Italy. Designer Franco Scaglione used the expertise he gained in designing the low-drag Alfa Romeo B.A.T. series to create the Record Bertone's sleek bodywork. The vehicle debuted at the 1956 Salone dell'automobile di Torino to much critical acclaim. Abarth tested the vehicle throughout 1956 using racing drivers and automotive journalists to gain recognition for their company. Tested exclusively on Italy's Autodromo Nazionale Monza, the Abarth Record Bertone went on to set 20 international land speed records in 1956.

Variations
In order to set records in a variety of FIA classes, Abarth needed to fit the vehicle with different motors based on the maximum displacement allowed for each category. The vehicle was seen in three versions throughout its lifetime, each with a different engine.

750
The first version of the Abarth Record Bertone to be tested was known as the 750. Equipped with the 743cc engine from Abarth's road cars, the vehicle was build to compete in the FIA's H class for land speed records. Featuring a white-on-red paintjob, the Record Bertone set 6 international records for a variety of distances up to 72 hours at Monza.

500
For the next attempt, the Record Bertone was fitted with a smaller 500cc engine to compete in the FIA's I class. Repainted yellow and silver, the vehicle set an additional 8 records for this class in two separate tests. After initially running the vehicle in July of 1956, the team realized that many of their calculations had been off due to receiving an obsolete list of records from the FIA. The team returned in October of that year and succeeded to achieve the remainder of their goals for the class.

800
The final guise for the Abarth Record Bertone was known as the 800 to compete in FIA class G. Running a 785cc engine, the vehicle has minor alterations such as new air intakes and larger wheels. Driven up to 24 hours, the vehicle set 6 more records in this class.