Guide: Sticking it to Porsche in the Mountains- a Historical & Technical Appraisal of the Abarth SE 010
BACKGROUND
For 1966, new Appendix J motor racing regulations came into effect that split machinery into one of seven categories.
Groups 1, 2 and 5 were for Touring cars. Group 3 was for Grand Touring cars and Group 7 was essentially an unlimited class for vehicles not eligible to race in the FIA World Sportscar Championship.
The big change concerned prototype / sports-type machinery which were now split into two categories.
Group 4 became the Sports car category. It had a 50 car production requirement to qualify and a five-litre engine limit.
Group 6 was for out-and-out Prototypes. It had no minimum production requirement and no engine limit although, like Group 4, an under two-litre class was organised at most events.
Having unveiled the diminutive one-litre SE 04 (the 1000 SP) in April 1966, Abarth went on to campaign further uprated iterations of this Group 6 Prototype during the next couple of racing seasons. In addition to bigger 1.3 and 2-litre power units, longer wheelbase and rear-engined examples were developed to run alongside the original mid-engined variant. Aerodynamics were also suitably enhanced to reflect the latest understanding.
Following a debut victory for Johannes Ortner driving the two-litre SE 04 at the Montlhery Coupes du Salon in October 1966 (when the Austrian driver saw off much bigger-engined Prototypes from Ferrari and Ford), Abarth collected a litany of additional wins throughout 1967 as the Turin manufacturer looked to develop a standalone model for 1968.
That car was the SE 010 in which Peter Schetty made a victorious debut and set a course record at the Ampus Hillclimb in April 1968.
Initially conceived to contest motor racing’s under-two-litre Group 6 category, the SE 010 (sometimes dubbed the 2000 Sport Spider) was conceived to go head-to-head with vehicles like the Alfa Romeo 33/2, Porsche 910, Chevron B8, Lotus 47 and older machinery like the Ferrari Dino 206 S.
In line with Group 6 regulations, it was produced with a full height windscreen, a full complement of lighting and carried a spare wheel. Like the SE 04, the SE 010 was expected to be most at home on hillclimb courses and tight, twisty circuits.
CHASSIS
The SE 010 was based around a tubular steel chassis strengthened with double laminated fibreglass sheet that was riveted in place to provide a semi-monocoque effect. The completed chassis weighed in at 47kg, 39kg of which was steel and the remaining 8kg being fibreglass.
A rear-engined layout was adopted as famously preferred by company boss Carlo Abarth. The inline four cylinder motor was mounted over the rear axle, a pair of 50-litre fuel cells were housed in each sill and the spare wheel was positioned ahead of the front axle for a 38:62 weight distribution.
At 2085mm, the SE 010’s wheelbase was 15mm shorter than the standard SE 04.
Suspension was independent all round with double wishbones up front and reversed lower wishbones, top links and trailing arms at the rear. Coil sprung hydraulic dampers were fitted to each corner along with an anti-roll bar at either end.
Disc brakes came from Girling in England while the 13-inch diameter wheels were sourced from Campagnolo in Italy. These magnesium alloy rims measured 10-inches wide at the front, 12-inches wide at the rear and were originally shod with Dunlop Racing tyres.
ENGINE / GEARBOX
The SE 010’s two-litre inline four cylinder engine was mounted longitudinally in the chassis.
Based on a cast-iron block from Fiat, this latest iteration of Abarth’s Tipo 236 motor utilised a light alloy DOHC head with four valves per cylinder and dry-sump lubrication. It featured two coils, two distributors and displaced 1946cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 88mm and 80mm respectively.
Lucas fuel-injection was intermittently trialled during the car’s early life, but most drivers preferred to run a pair of twin-choke Weber 58 DCO3 carburettors.
With a compression ratio of 11.5:1, peak output was 250bhp at 8000rpm.
No torque figure was originally published.
Transmission was through Abarth’s own five-speed manual gearbox, a single dry-plate clutch and limited-slip differential.
BODYWORK
In addition to the SE 010’s mechanical layout, Mario Colucci was also the architect of its handsome fibreglass bodywork.
The car’s air-piercing nose incorporated a slim full width aperture, each corner of which housed an intake for an oil and water radiator. Further up, dual headlights per side were housed under clear Plexiglas covers. Ahead of the front scuttle was a large vent for the aforementioned radiators. Access to the front quarters was via a detachable lid.
The cockpit was protected by a panoramic windscreen that wrapped around to the leading edge of the doors. Side windows curved inwards to lend the driver additional protection from the elements, but there was no roof or rear screen.
Along the tops of the butterfly doors were enormous cooling scoops for the secondary oil and water radiators mounted ahead of the rear wheels.
The SE 010’s single-piece tail section featured bulbous fender tops that stood proud of the flattened central section. Massive rear winglets were initially adopted on each side.
The tail fascia was home to a pair of simple light units, in between which was a large inverted U-type cutaway that left the power unit exposed and through which the single megaphone exhaust stuck out.
All told, the fibreglass body weighed in at 50kg.
INTERIOR
Aside from a pair of buckets seats trimmed in either black leatherette or fabric, there was no interior upholstery to speak of. Housed between the seats was an open gate five-speed gear shifter.
Many of the chassis’s tubular steel elements were left exposed with the rest concealed behind satin black fibreglass sections riveted in place for additional rigidity.
Directly behind the leather-rimmed three-spoke Abarth steering wheel was a large 10,000rpm rev counter while on either side was a smaller read out for oil pressure and water temperature. Located on the fibreglass panel outboard of the steering wheel were a small quantity of switches and warning lights.
The majority of SE 010s were completed in left-hand drive.
WEIGHT / PERFORMANCE
The SE 010 tipped the scales at 575kg and, with a standard 3.5:1 rear axle ratio, had a quoted top speed of 168mph.
In this configuration 0-62mph would likely have required around 4.5 seconds.
PRODUCTION CHANGES
During the course of the SE 010’s production life, several technical changes were made.
Perhaps most notably, the front intake apertures were enlarged and NACA ducts were added ahead of the front bulkhead to feed fresh air into the cockpit.
The front and rear spoilers / canards also came in for attention as did the rollover hoop behind the driver’s seat and not all cars were equipped with side windows.
Instead of a predominantly enclosed tails fascia, later cars adopted tail sections that were entirely cut away below the tops of the rear tyres.
For ease of maintenance, some SE 010’s were completed with 8 instead of 16 valve heads, a configuration preferred by privateers that used their cars mostly for hillimbing.
OTHER ENGINES
Five months after the SE 010 made its debut in France, Abarth took a trio of works cars to the Nurburgring 500km which took place on September 4th. To comply with the regulations, all three were fitted with 1.6-litre engines. Little is known about the precise details of these likely 1592cc units but they were probably developing somewhere in the region of 185bhp.
During 1969, the factory squad occasionally ran the SE 010 with a three-litre motor stroked to 2968cc that produced around 350bhp.
A little later, some privateers retro-fitted 1.3-litre units to contest the under 1300cc classes.
PININFARINA SPECIALE
At the Brussels Motor Show in January 1969, Pininfarina presented a one-off SE 010 equipped with a radical new wedge-shaped body. Dubbed the Scorpio (covered separately), it featured a slightly de-tuned engine and showcased Pininfarina’s interpretation of the latest automotive design language.
GROUP 4 HOMOLOGATION
In order to stimulate participation in the Group 4 class, the FIA announced that it was to reduce the original 50 car production requirement down to just 25 units for 1969.
Accordingly, Abarth began to offer the SE 010 to third parties and, on April 27th 1969, it was homologated into Group 4.
END OF PRODUCTION
SE 010 production ran from early 1968 until late 1969, during which time somewhere in the region of 40 examples are believed to have been completed.
COMPETITION HISTORY
For 1968, the factory Abarth squad focused mainly on hillclimbs where the SE 010 won a plethora of events to include: Ampus (Peter Schetty), Stallavena-Boscochiesanuova (Schetty), Castione Baratti-Nerviano (Johannes Ortner), Coppa Citta di Volterra (Ortner), Coppa Acquq Cerelia (Ortner), Vittorio Veneto-Cansiglio (Schetty), Bologna-Raticosa (Ortner), Coppa dela Sila (Schetty), Bolzano-Mendola (Schetty), Maddalena (Schetty), Coppa Alpe del Nevegal (Schetty) and Aosta-Pila (Schetty).
The factory’s circuit racing outings were limited in number but impressive in terms of results.
The SE 010 made its on-track debut at the Nurburgring 500km, a race for under 1.6-litre Prototype and GT cars in early May. Peter Schetty, Johannes Ortner and Arturo Merzario ultimately came home in first, second and third positions with 1.6-litre SE 010s. However, the event was overshadowed by the death in practice of factory driver Ab Goedemans in a 1000 SP.
Four months later, Arturo Merzario won the under-two-litre class at the Preis von Wien at the Aspern airfield in Austria where Peter Schetty took outright victory in the three-litre SE 011.
One week later Toine Hezemans collected the under two-litre win in the Preis von Tirol at the same same circuit while Peter Schetty secured another overall win driving the big SE 011.
Despite the arrival of updated models, Abarth continued to race and hillclimb the SE 010 throughout 1969 and 1970. The car got a new lease of life when it was homologated into the Group 4 class in April 1969.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Supercar Nostalgia & Abarth - https://www.abarth.com/
