A new initiative being launched by Abarth is the 'Driving School' project which will offer young people a chance to learn the best techniques with which to combine safety with enjoyable driving.

A key concept of the Abarth philosophy is a sporty driving style on board high performance, reliable cars, protected by maximum safety. This principle, and the collaboration of the sponsor Adler Plastic have been the force behind the ‘Abarth Driving School – Sandro Munari’ project.

The school was created in collaboration with the best-known Italian rally driver of all time, and it offers young people a chance to learn the best techniques with which to combine safety with enjoyable driving every day. The importance of this collaboration becomes clearer if we remember who Sandro Munari was, a driver who turned his passion for cars into a way of life. He began racing in 1964 as a rally navigator, and continued as a driver, joining the Lancia Racing Team in 1966.

His first international success came in 1967 when he won the Tour de Corse in a Lancia Fulvia HF, taking the Italian Rally title that same year, and again in 1969. The 1970s were marked by a long list of victories: he won the Monte Carlo Rally four times – in 1972 with the Lancia Fulvia HF and in ’75, ’76, and ’77 with the Lancia Stratos – and in 1974 he won the Tour de France, and was back on the first step of the podium at the Tour de Corse in 1976. In 1977 he was World Rally Champion, a title which, together with his many wins, earned him a place on the role of honour of the world’s greatest drivers.

When his racing career ended, Sandro Munari did not abandon his great passion, but decided to make his skill and experience at the wheel available to others. The ‘Sandro Munari Guida Sicura’ school opened in 1997, a safe-driving school dedicated to all motorists who want to learn how to control their cars in all conditions and to familiarise with the indispensable rules for correct behaviour behind the wheel.

The ‘Abarth Driving School – Sandro Munari’ makes available the skills and integrity of a great driver, and technology applied to safe, high performance cars like those with the Scorpion badge. The school organises a number of courses, depending on the participants’ needs and experience, divided into hours of theory and hours of driving practice, followed by final tests which verify what participants have actually learned. After the driving test, the best three students will receive a prize, and everyone will receive a participation certificate.

This programme is part of the broader programme to give new life to the Abarth brand, and it aims to underline the importance of correct understanding of driving techniques which, combined with a technologically excellent car, will ensure greater safety on our roads. Because Abarth, quite apart from its gutsy, sporty cars, believes it is essential to raise awareness with the public, and particularly with the young, of the strategic importance of safety, prevention and highway education for any evolved society.