Abarth opens new design center in Turin

Coinciding with the reveal of the all-new Abarth 500 hot hatch, Fiat has officially opened a new design studio and workshop dedicated to the revived performance line within the confines of its Mirafiori complex. Abarth is a motorsport, design and manufacturing company and home of Fiat's acclaimed Abarth Racing Team.

The new design center consists of a 23,000 square metre building housing 100 employees with different divisions for competition cars, prototype development, cars derived from standard production models and a separate racing department. The entire operation is contained within the one area, including technical offices, design offices and marketing, sales and finance offices.

To show off the brand’s heritage and pedigree, the entrance hall holds a 'wall of fame' of sorts, showing famous victories and various items of importance from Abarth's history. The workshop, where the Abarth magic really takes place, has eight vehicle lifts and an area designated for a future assembly line for small-run specialist cars.

The reopening in Turin is fitting, as Abarth was originally founded in Turin back in 1949. Over the past two decades the brand had been largely forgotten but a return to racing this year in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge with the Grande Punto S2000 will mark Abarth’s true return to motorsport and only time will tell if Fiat's resurrection of the brand was a wise move.