2012 Fiat 500 Yellow 12k Glass Roof Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Officine Abarth Classiche dedicated to Scorpion heritage

It was only nine years ago that Fiat launched the Abarth brand as its dedicated performance division. But it didn't pull the name and logo out of thin air. Though it was essentially dormant for years, the Scorpion marque has a long history of tuning Italian pocket rockets for both road and race. And now it's launched a dedicated heritage division to manage its considerable history. Opening this week, the new Officine Abarth Classiche program will be responsible, among other things, for the restoration of vintage Abarth vehicles and the certification of their mechanical authenticity. Similar to the Ferrari Classiche department, private owners of classic Abarths will be able to send their pride and joy to the factory for service, maintenance, and restoration at the hands of factory technicians and with the benefit of the company's own archives. Work will be undertaken in a dedicated, thousand-square-foot workshop at the Mirafiori Abarth factory in Turin, and will of course include Abarth-tuned Fiats. But the program is also open to all the various Lancias, Alfa Romeos, Autobianchis, and Cisitalias fettled over the years by the Italian performance studio - to say nothing of the Zagato and Ghia prototypes. Beyond restoration, Officine Abarth Classiche will also organize special events for owners of vintage Abarth machinery, and undertake a comprehensive Abarth registry. It has also commissioned a book on the history of the marque, recreated company founder Carlo Abarth's office at the Mirafiori workshop, and even signed on Carlo's widow Anneliese Abarth to serve as a brand ambassador. It's an ambitious undertaking, and you can read about it in full – along with some history of the name – in the full press release below. Related Video: 18 November 2015 The Great Abarth Classiche Project - The great story of the performances and sporting grandeur of the Scorpion and the records it has broken is celebrated through the ambitious Abarth Classiche initiative.

Jay Leno gifts wounded warrior a Fiat 124 Spider Abarth

Comedian and car guy Jay Leno is making the talk show rounds ahead of the debut of the new season of Jay Leno's Garage. After revisiting his old digs at The Tonight Show on Monday, Leno arrived on the set of The Today Show Tuesday morning, and much as he did in 2014, one of America's wounded veterans was the big beneficiary. Stephanie Morris, a US Army specialist was stationed at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan when two rocket-propelled grenades landed inside the base's perimeter, shattering her left femur and fracturing her right foot. What followed was three years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where Spc. Morris worked to keep her right leg, undergoing intensive physical therapy and three dozen failed surgeries before ultimately deciding on amputation following her participation in the Warrior Games last June. The amputation was on the Fourth of July. Leno, who's long been a supporter of American troops and an active USO participant, met with Spc. Morris, and took her for a spin in the new Fiat 124 Abarth Spider. And like Leno did in 2014 when he gave Corporal Ethan Laberge a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, Morris's visit with the comedian ended with the Abarth's keys in her hand. Watch the video above. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

6 cars that are eligible for import to the U.S. in 2023

For car enthusiasts, the most exciting part of ringing in a new year is watching the list of import-eligible cars grow. Federal regulations make bringing a late-model car from Europe or Asia mind-bogglingly difficult, but these barriers fall as soon as a vehicle turns 25. There's no need to slash through a jungle of red tape; simply ship your dream forbidden fruit over, pay import duties, and in most states you're good to park a fresh import car in your garage. Of course, you need to locate any car you're considering importing, whether it's on this list of cars you can import in 2023 or not. A quick search of the internet will show that there are a lot of places that specialize in sourcing cars to import into the United States, and while we don't have any firsthand experience with any of them, we can point out a few well-known import car dealers, including some at auction. Duncan Imports and Classics bills itself as "America's Largest JDM Dealer" and keeps a large inventory of vehicles that have already been brought into the States. The Import Guys boast options to ship and finance worldwide, Davey Japan claims to have exported over 50,000 vehicles from Japan, and Goonet Exchange says it's operated by "Japan's largest used car information site." Japanese site Be Forward lists a staggering 10,949 online reviews at the time of writing with an average score of around 4.5 out of 5 stars. If your new year's resolution is to buy a car from overseas, here are some of the highlights from 2023's crop of importable cars. Keep in mind that some of these import cars were introduced in 1997 but didn't enter production until 1998, while others made their debut late in the year. And without further ado, here is a list of six cars that are eligible for import to the U.S. in 2023 that are worth noting. Cars that are eligible to import into the U.S. in 2023 Alfa Romeo 166 Developed to replace the 164, the 166 stands out as Alfa Romeo's last true flagship sedan; it wasn't directly replaced. It shares its front-wheel-drive platform with the Lancia Kappa but the two cars look nothing alike. Alfa Romeo gave the big sedan a smooth, relatively elegant design that borrows several styling cues from the smaller 156.