AN ITALIAN LOVE AFFAIR; 1964 FIAT ABARTH 1000 TC.(NEWS)

Byline: LARRY SANATA

ALAIN RAYMOND always dreamed of owning a Fiat Abarth. He had owned its lowly cousin, a Fiat 600, while he was a student in Lebanon.

"It was a basket case. But anyway, it was my car, he recalls.

Many years later, Raymond, an auto writer for La Presse, a French-language newspaper in Quebec, realized his Italian dream in Denver: a former racer driven by Umberto Toscano. "You can't get any more Italian than that, Raymond says.

While it looked forlorn at first sight, its new owner was not disappointed. "I promised myself that one day, I would get a real one, an Abarth. And that's what I did. Voila! he says.

Just the name, Abarth, gives car enthusiasts the warm fuzzies, at least the older enthusiasts. Carlo Abarth was considered a master at converting an ordinary production car into a raging "bomba. Although he probably is best known for his Fiat conversions, he also was involved with Ferrari, Lancia and Porsche.

The Fiat Abarth is based on a Fiat 600, like the one Raymond owned years ago, which was considered the "people's car in Italy. It was powered by a watercooled, four-cylinder, 600-cc engine that produced 28 hp.