The Porsche Abarth Carrera



I've always loved this one. It is known widely as the Abarth Carrera or 356B Abarth. From 1960-1963, it was a 356B Carrera chassis, with the bodywork done by Italy's Carlo Abarth. Very few were built, like less than 20. They originally held 1.6 Liter engines, but some later got 2.0 powerplants. It was used for the World GT title, of which it won in 1961, '62, and '63. It started out with the 1587cc Carrera engine, with double coils and distributors for the needed spark. It also had a pair of twin-choke Weber down-draft carbs. Unique were the 4 cams, which were driven by 9 intermediate shafts, 14 bevel gears, and 2 spur gears. Output could range from a mild 115bhp, to a strong 135 horsepower. In 1961, the engine was upgraded to the Typ 692/3A, and power was 140 horses. One of these Abarths was the FIRST car to lap the Nurburgring in under 10 minutes. Top speed for the monster was about 140 mph. By 1963, the engines were being changed over to 2.0 Liter units, but soon the 904 Carrera GTS came along, and the Abarth Carrera was retired.

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