In 1967 was started the design of the plant and the new car model (the ' Alfasud ), both under the technical responsibility by engineer Rudolf Hruska, one of the most important engineers of the era, former "right hand" of Ferdinand Porsche and consultant to Fiat, Simca and Abarth.
Soon after, "Weatherman" was used by Fiat in their "Fiat 500 Abarth Burning up the desert" advertisement.
FCA will serve as the parent company for a group whose product brands include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Ram Trucks and SRT.
A 'Michael Schumacher' edition of the Sporting, with ABS and the Abarth styling kit, was also launched at this time to celebrate the Ferrari driver's Formula One success, This model was almost identical to the Abarth kit with the exception of chrome gear stick surrounds and Michaels signature on the boot lid and side skirt.
Nadina Abarth-Žerjav (née Žerjav) (March 5, 1912, Görz (Gorizia) – September 17, 2000, Ljubljana) was the daughter of the Slovene politician and lawyer minister Gregor Žerjav and his wife, Milena née Lavrenčič.