The Alfa Romeo 4C is back from the dead. Well, at least partially. This Abarth Classiche 1300 OT doesn’t wear an Alfa Romeo badge, but it’s effectively a re-bodied and re-jiggered 4C built with an eye to the past.
Limited to only five examples, the Classiche 1300 OT is part of Stellantis’ “Reloaded by Creators” project that aims to reinterpret beloved cars of its past in a modern form. This time, the model is the Fiat-Abarth OT 1300 race car from 1965. We’ll put new and old side-by-side below for you to critique how Abarth did.
One of the original car’s most distinctive features was the big periscope atop the roof meant to cool the cabin while racing, and Abarth made a small attempt at recreating it with a little scoop atop the roof. Its hood features a scoop that looks a little like the original’s, and you can see similar inspiration found for its rear taillghts. All that said, this re-body job doesn’t really go far enough to make you forget it’s actually just an Alfa Romeo 4C underneath. You may recall a similar attempt made a few years ago with the Abarth 1000 SP that used the same formula, but instead was based on the 4C Spider.
Technical details are practically non-existent for this new Classiche 1300 OT, but we suspect it’s powered by the same 1.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder as the 4C was and cracks off shifts via a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox. We don’t know the curb weight, but Abarth says all of its body is now made of carbon fiber, so it’s likely to be even lighter than the standard 4C. If we’re lucky, Abarth has done some re-tuning of the powertrain and suspension to differentiate how it drives compared to the 4C.
And if you want one of these creations, Abarth says ordering is open now, but remember, only five are ever going to be built.