Abarth Logo PNG
The Abarth emblem is divided into two equal parts. The emblem shows readiness for hot racing while also reflecting a desire for easy, pleasant travel. The guarantee of safety and reliability unites the two areas of the automotive industry.
Abarth is an Italian sports and road car brand whose production division is now owned by Stellantis. It was established in 1949 and is headquartered in Turin, Italy. Carlo Abarth founded the brand.
In 1947, Carlo Abarth, the sports director of the Cisitalia racing team, realized the company was about to collapse and became deeply concerned for its fate. In 1948, the company closed, and its founder, Piero Dusio, moved to Argentina. Then Carlo secured Armando Scagliarini’s financial support and transferred all the bankrupt factory’s assets to himself. As a result, in the spring of 1949, a new structure, Abarth & C, emerged on its basis. Its location was Bologna, but in time, the head office was moved to Turin (in 1951).
After Cisitalia’s liquidation, the brand received a series of 204 sports cars, one single car, D46, and various accessories. They immediately renamed all the cars and raced them under new names. They entered most of the newest models in the races. Famous racers Guido Scagliarini, Franco Cortese, Piero Taruffi, and Tazio Nuvolari competed in them. In April 1950, the last of them won the Palermo-Monte Pellegrino Cup in an Abarth 204 A.
In addition to racing, the company produced and sold car parts and accessories for Cisitalia, Lancia, Simca, and Fiat. After moving its headquarters to Turin, Abarth partnered with Fiat to create the Abarth 1500 Biposto series based on the Fiat 1500. In the 1960s, the company successfully produced sports cars in the 850-2000cc class. Its main competitors were Porsche and Ferrari.
Meaning and History
Since the company specialized in assembling racing cars, it paid great attention to its image. From the beginning, a formidable scorpion painting sat on the hood, set against a bright red-and-yellow background. The symbol refers not to the real arthropod but to the zodiac sign under which Carlo Abarth was born. Throughout the brand’s existence, the emblem has never changed. All logos have only minor adjustments beyond the basic concept.
What is Abarth?
Abarth & C.S.p.A. is a company named after Carlo Abarth, founded in 1949 for racing. Today, it produces sports and road cars and is a division of FCA Italy S.p.A. Its main owner is the Dutch corporation Stellantis N.V. Its headquarters are in Turin, Italy.
1949 – 1954
The debut version of the logo featured a single scorpion image. It was as close to a realistic image as possible and contained many physiological details. The designers carefully drew everything, including the exact structure of the small lateral legs, the notches on the claws, and the number of tail segments. This was necessary to intimidate opponents, as befits a sports team. The color palette was restrained – black and several shades of gray. The logo also used red to emphasize the company name and its location. The inscription sat below the image. Carlo Abarth, an automobile designer, created the emblem.
1954 – 1961
To deepen the emotional impact and emphasize the brand’s competitive spirit, the developer placed the scorpion on a brightly colored sculptural shield. The yellow and red colors provided ample adrenaline, charging some with excitement and others with fear. A diagonal line separated the differently colored areas, and the arthropod symbol was on their background. At the same time, the shield resembled a chevron, with the company name set in a separate field within an arch. From the outside, the logo had a double contour with blue and yellow lines.
1955 – 1958
Restraint and naturalness – these are the main principles to which the Abarth logo of this period was subordinated. To achieve this, the designers revised the scorpion image and “put” it together. That is, they drew it as a whole, connecting disparate fragments. In addition, the artists added realism to it with the help of artistic accents:
- Deep shadows
- Light highlights the shell
- The harmonious combination of dark and light blue colors
They kept the shape of the heraldic shield but changed the letter style. The result was a figural inscription in Old English script. Glyphs with sharp spikes, diagonal cuts, and triangular protrusions blended well with the poisonous shell arthropod. The colors were pastel.
1958 – 1969
After the sports cars’ success, the company’s owner decided to make the emblem more original by abandoning the scorpion’s detailing. To do this, he painted the background under the car brand in blue and the letters themselves in yellow. Another change affected the image’s artistic style, leaving aggression and detail behind in favor of schematic, abstract forms. The artist has thinned the lateral legs, reduced the number of tail segments, and increased the claws. On the edge of the chevron, he drew a dark blue border, and on the scorpion’s body, white highlights.
1969 – 2007
The blue in the emblem of those years was gone; purple and black replaced it. The first served as a background for the brand name; the second represented the scorpion. The inscription became large and white. A red wavy line separated it from the main space. The yellow color acquired a pastel shade. The arthropod’s lateral branches were completely shortened. The yellow color appeared along the dark border. The scorpion was depicted in a cubist style.
2007 – today
Designers infused the modern version of the logo with a patriotic spirit, using the colors of the Italian flag. As a result, the dividing line between the brand name and the scorpion is now colored green, white, and red. They also widened the chevron to better resemble a shield. They leveled the upper field with the word “Abarth” and made the inscription arc-shaped. As a result, the letters differ in height: the central ones are long, and the side letters are short. The logo’s edging is created under the metal frame, with shadows and highlights. The authors placed the scorpion exactly on the diagonal strip, visually dividing it into two parts. The head and claws are in the yellow zone, and the body, legs, and tail are in the red.
Font and Colors
At the beginning of the reorganization of the Cisitalia brand into Abarth, its new owner chose the scorpion, his zodiac sign, as the logo. Since then, this arthropod has remained in the logo; only its drawing style has changed.
The lettering is in a font similar to Microgramma D Bold Extended. Aldo Novarese and Alessandro Butti created this font. The closest free analog is the typeface Grammara Normal, created by designer Thomas E. Harvey.
The logo’s color scheme is standard, consisting of red, yellow, white, and black, with periods of blue, purple, and green.
FAQ
What does the Abarth emblem mean?
The Abarth emblem has prominently featured the Scorpion since its creation seven decades ago. This is not only because the company’s founder, Carlo Abarth, was born under the zodiac sign of Scorpio. Scorpio means perseverance, power, and resilience.
Is Abarth the same as Fiat?
Abarth is Fiat’s high-performance division, offering specialized tuning and luxury features. Currently, only certain Fiat models have Abarth trim.
Is Fiat now an Abarth?
After Fiat’s integration into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Abarth’s parent company was renamed FCA Italy S.p.A. in 2015.
Is the Abarth 500 the same as the Fiat 500?
The Abarth version of the Fiat 500 has higher specifications, visual enhancements, and additional features, so it costs more than the standard Fiat 500.
What does the word Abarth mean?
Founded by Italian-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949, Abarth & C. S.p.A. is an Italian automobile company that specializes in producing racing and road cars.