• Fri. Nov 22nd, 2024

North East Connected

Hopping Across The North East From Hub To Hub

ABARTH DAY PROVES A BIG HIT ACROSS EUROPE

ByDave Stopher

Oct 12, 2018
  • The scorpion badge brought together over 4,000 Abarth fans at seven circuits across Europe
  • Over 3,000 test drives, on the road and on the track, in the iconic new Abarth 595 range and 124 spider
  • This year’s events included rally experiences, laps on the track with professional drivers, classic Abarth cars, stunts and acrobatics, DJ sets and gaming areas

The 2018 Abarth Days have come to a close having been the biggest since the event started in 2016. The official meetings took place between May and October and brought together thousands of fans of the scorpion badge at seven circuits across Europe – Salzburgring in Austria, Ouest Parisien in France, Circuito Vasco Sameiro in Portugal, Rockingam in the United Kingdom, Ascari Circuit Malaga in Spain, Driving Center Baden in Germany and Autodromo Vallelunga in Italy.

“Abarth sinks its roots and values in motorsports and the emotions that competition and racing fires up in all fans”, commented Luca Napolitano, Head of EMEA Fiat and Abarth brand. “Today, Abarth fans come together in the Scorpionship. Our large community counts more than 100,000 members and the Abarth Days were organised precisely with them in mind – seven meetings dedicated to Abarth on seven race tracks across Europe. These meetings are simply too good to be missed. They are an opportunity to meet old and new friends and for everyone to express the passion for Abarth through their own cars. It is also the chance to savour and re-experience the typical values of Abarth – adrenaline, performance and style. For us at Abarth, they are also an excellent opportunity to meet the fans of our brand directly, because our supporters are the first ambassadors of our values and it is with them that we wanted to share these fantastic days of fun and excitement, obviously on the race track.”

Over 4,000 enthusiasts came together at seven circuits, completing over 3,000 test drives both on the road and track, in the adrenaline-fuelled Abarth 124 spider and the iconic Abarth 595. The event was expanded this year to include activities such as the “rally experience where fans were invited to ride shotgun in the victorious 124 rally that, only one year after its debut, has won the R-GT World Championship scoring more than 40 category successes. There was also room for laps on the track, DJ sets, gaming areas, parades of vintage Abarth cars, acrobatic and stunt displays, the pinnacle of which saw Alastair Moffatt – who recently set a new Guinness World Record in the Abarth 124 spider completing the fastest figure of eight five times – perform at the UK event at Rockingham.

The days also celebrated the growing Abarth community in Europe, the Middle East and Africa which has expanded from 39 to 58 official clubs in just over a year, bringing together over 100,000 members of “The Scorpionship”.

The success of the 2018 Abarth Days mirrors that of the brand which has grown by 27 percent in the UK in 2018. This growth is supported by the launch of the new Abarth 595 range during the Targa Florio in Sicily in October. The launch marked the 110th anniversary of Carlo Abarth’s birth, as well as reasserting the time-honoured bond between the brand and its racing tradition.

For further information on the Abarth range visit www.abarthcars.co.uk or to find your nearest dealer visit www.abarthcars.co.uk/find-a-dealer

For further information on ‘The Scorpionship’ www.abarthcars.co.uk/scorpionship