European Hill Climb Championship: Abarth

In the 1950s and 1960s, Porsche dominated the European Hill Climb Championship. However, in 1963 and 1964, another name emerged alongside Stuttgart's horse: Carlo Abarth. Lacking a winning car in the GT category—though still dominant in sports—Porsche turned to the ingenious Austrian-Italian engineer to develop a competitive vehicle starting from the too-heavy 356B chassis. This led to the creation of the 356 Carrera Abarth GTL, with a body designed by aerodynamics expert Franco Scaglione, known for his work on Alfa Romeo BAT projects for Bertone. Swiss driver Herbert Müller won two European Championships in the GT class with this car. This success inspired Abarth to develop increasingly competitive sports cars using Fiat and Simca engines.