Cisitalia 204A Abarth Spider Corsa

Mille Miglia cars

The Cisitalia 204A Abarth Spider Corsa is a racing car built by Cisitalia in 1948.

Development
The car was the first racing car built by the Italian-Austrian engineer Carlo Abarth and Davide Introzzi and the last one produced by Cisitalia.

Technical
To build the vehicle, Abarth collaborated with the engineer Luciano Scholz. The chassis was made up of two oval tubes reinforced by a central cross. The suspensions, in the front section, were made up of independent wheels with double longitudinal arms and transverse torsion bars (a solution derived from that used on the Porsche 356), while in the rear section they were made up of a rigid bridge suspended on two semi-elliptical leaf springs equipped with hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers.

The 4-cylinder engine was derived from that of the Fiat 1100, was called 204A and was managed by a four-speed manual gearbox. It was paired with two Weber 36 DR 4 SP carburetors that allowed it to generate 83 HP. With this configuration, the maximum speed was 190 km/h. The body, to reduce the overall weight to 510 kg, was made of aluminum, while the braking system consisted of hydraulic drum brakes.

Sports activities
The car was fielded for the first time at the Vercelli GP in 1948. Driven by Adolfo Macchieraldo, the 204A proved to be very competitive, but was forced to retire due to a failure. Subsequently, at the Mantua GP, two cars were fielded, one entrusted to Macchieraldo and the other to Felice Bonetto. This time the victory went to the car prepared by Abarth. Numerous other victories followed, many by the driver Guido Scagliarini.

In 1949, Cisitalia went into crisis and was placed under controlled administration. The racing department was acquired by Carlo Abarth, and with it two complete 204As and two in the assembly phase. By court decree, the cars of the new sports house were to race for a year with the Cisitalia emblem before being replaced. When this happened, in 1950, the 204As were able to display the new factory logo, a scorpion on a red and yellow background. In one of these cars, Tazio Nuvolari achieved his last victory in the Palermo-Monte Pellegrino.

In total, under both the Cisitalia and Abarth brands, the 204A achieved 19 victories.