‘It’s not a car. It’s a fibreglass tantrum with a snorkel and a short temper.’
Mad Italians built it with a socket set and a vendetta against physics.
The Fiat Abarth OT 2000 ‘Periscopio’ looked like it had escaped from a wind tunnel and stolen a submarine’s snorkel.
It was tiny, twitchy, and entirely bonkers.
But when it flew past Ferraris uphill, sideways, and shrieking like a kettle, nobody was laughing.
Except for Carlo Abarth – probably maniacally.
Espresso-Fuelled Origins – Early 1960s
Carlo Abarth was tuning humble Fiats into motorsport weapons — lighter, louder, and loopy.
His mission was to beat Goliath using nothing but ingenuity and industrial quantities of revs.
Enter the ‘Periscopio’ – 1965
It was loosely based on the Fiat 850, but it had more in common with a jet fighter than a shopping car.
‘Periscopio’ refers to its roof-mounted air scoop — functional, absurd, and brilliant.
Pininfarina designed it because, apparently, something that looks bonkers needs to look beautiful too.
Specs That Shouldn’t Work, But Do
2.0L inline-four, about 185 bhp — and under 700 kg.
Mid-engine, rear-drive, fibreglass shell on a tubular frame.
It looked fragile but drove like a wasp with a grudge.
Giant Killer
Sprinted up hill climbs and buzzed round circuits while big V12s tried to keep up.
Rare? Only about ten were built.
Today, it’s a unicorn with a periscope.
‘Looks like a teapot, sounds like war, and drives like it’s late for a Mafia wedding.’
