The Fiat 2300S was a curiously styled car, almost appearing as a sort of Italian Plymouth Barracuda. The sportier variant of what was then Fiat's top sedan, this coupe. As was the case with many Italian cars of the time, the sedan and coupe were penned by two different styling houses. Pininfarina was responsible for the sedan's looks while Ghia was contracted to design the coupe. At the time Ghia did not have the production capacity, so construction of the coupes was contracted to Officine Stampaggi Industriali (OSI).

Not a car you'd necessarily envision as a competition vehicle, this 2300S has been worked over by the boffins at Abarth and helped carry famed racing driver Paul Frere to a win at the 12 hours of the Nürburgring.

1963 Fiat Abarth 2300S Coupe Works

There were originally only three of these cars. The car was approved on 06.08.1963 by Abarth and re-registered on 03.02.1966 by FIAT SPA in Torino since Fiat took over Abarth. It later went to a collector in the Aosta Valley and finally came to Heilbronn Kirchausen in 1998.

The car had very successfully taken part in major races such as 12 hour Nürburgring (Paul Frere) class win and second overall and Tour d'France and Tour of Europe (Golderer/Peter Falk). The car was completely dismantled and sandblasted. Doors, hood and trunk lid were replaced with aluminum. The engine, with its three Weber twin carburetors was rebuilt and the engine now produces 186 hp at 6498 rpm and 210 Nm of torque at 4992 rpm. The 5-speed gearbox and limited slip differential were completely overhauled and the specially made Koni Suspension rebuilt. The original plexiglass windows were frosted and also had to be replaced. For safety, the passenger compartment is reinforced with a roll cage and a racing fuel tank system installed. Of course the car has MOT and FIA papers. More pictures and information can be found in our "press reports."

The 2300S coupe itself is not a common Fiat. Add the Abarth tuning into the equation and you have one rare piece. A standard 2300S coupe might bring somewhere between $30,000 to $50,000. We've seen smaller vintage Abarths bring close to six figures, and the asking price of over $337,000 is eye watering. While it has an impressive race history, I'm not sure the seller will realize this high price. If the car was for sale around $100,000, I could maybe see it. But at the asking price, we are now in solid Ferrari and Lamborghini territory.

-Paul