The International Motor Racing Research Center's 2014 raffle is all Italian. A Fiat 500 Abarth Hatchback Turbo and a trip to Italy combine to make a "primo" prize for the Center's annual fundraising project. The 2013 model is a sporty bright red with black interior and trim.

The drawing of the winning ticket will be on Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. at the Center, located at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen. The winner does not need to be present. Tickets are $40 for one or $100 for three. Only 3,500 tickets will be sold. The Racing Research Center is an archival and research library dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of motorsports, of all racing series and all tracks worldwide.

The annual car raffle is the Racing Research Center's major fundraiser. Support through the Center's Sponsorship Team campaign is the other key source of funding. The Center is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

Tickets may be purchased by mailing in a form available at the website www.racingarchives.org; by calling the Center at (607) 535-9044; or by sending the necessary information to [email protected]. Online orders are not an option.

Reviewers of the Fiat 500 Abarth are quick to revive the "small but wicked" description coined in the 1960s for Karl "Carlo" Abarth's cars.

These cars are fun, too.

"The Fiat 500 Abarth is a blast. Fun to drive, fun to listen to, fun to look at, and fun to experience," wrote Jamie Doyle for Sports Car Digest.

Says the company: "The Fiat 500 Abarth brings to life the legendary racing heritage of the brand and becomes the Italian high-performance car for everyday driving."

"With its origins part of automotive and motorsports history, the Fiat 500 Abarth is an especially appropriate choice as a Racing Research Center raffle car," Center President J.C. Argetsinger said.

The collaboration between Abarth and Fiat started in the early 1950s. The driving public loved the Fiat 500, first released in 1958. Abarth's tuning and exhaust system redesigns would take the 500 to many class and outright race victories.

The Fiat 500 was "the car that would cement Abarth and Fiat's name into automobile history," Doyle wrote. The Abarth brand was re-launched in 2007, and the Fiat 500 Abarth arrived in the U.S. in 2012.

Fiats are once again earning checkered flags on tracks around the world, and perhaps the raffle winner will see some of those racing Abarths on his or her tour of Italy - the other half of this year's prize package.

BTI The Travel Consultants, a first-class travel agency in Syracuse, N.Y., will custom-design a $5,000 trip to Italy for the winner. BTI will create "the Italian vacation of your dreams" for the lucky winner.

Said Argetsinger: "As we're saying at the Center these days: 'Tutte le strade conducono a Roma ... in un Fiat!' That means 'All roads lead to Rome ... in a Fiat!' We know someone is going to be very happy with this 'small but wicked' car."

Contact:

Glenda Gephart, International Motor Racing Research Center
Director of Administration and Communications
607-535-9044; [email protected]

Judy Stropus
203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
[email protected]