Carabo

Carabo (1970)

Designed by Bertone for Alfa Romeo, the Carabo concept car was unveiled at the 1968 Paris Mondial de L'Automobile. Built on the venerable Alfa Romeo 33 chassis, the Carabo was a big hit with the automotive press because of its beautifully tapered lines, seamless windscreen and air vents, and the original "jacknife" door mechanism that was later used on several Lamborghini models. The Carabo featured a centrally-mounted 2 litre V-8 engine and was capable of speeds upwards of 155 mph. The color of the car was novel too: an iridescent green reminiscent of a scarab beetle's shell, which is where Carabo gets its name ("Carabo" is the Italian translation of "Scarabaeus"). The glass used for the Carabo was copper-tinted, further emphasizing the color motif.

Mattel's version of the Carabo (pronounced "cah-RAH-bo") was designed by Ira Gilford and released as part of the 1970 Hot Wheels line-up. The casting featured opening "jacknife" doors, flat black painted rear engine louvers, and mated a spectraflame painted body with a gloss black enamel base. A fluorescent orange stripe is painted across the front of the car.

A light green US Carabo with doors up!

The "jacknife" doors are amazingly hardy but should be handled with care as they can break under rough handling. The large windscreen also is prone to cracking or breaking.

A view of the Carabo's gloss black base. This is a US model.

US-made Carabos feature clear windscreen glass and a black interior. HK Carabos have blue-tinted windscreens and brown or, less commonly, white interiors. All Carabos feature medium-size cap-style wheels.

A yellow US Carabo (L) with black interior and a magenta HK Carabo with brown interior (R).

A red HK Carabo with a white interior.

White interiors also have been found in US Carabos, although these are quite rare and are believed by some collectors to be pre-production models.

Rare white interior Carabos, aqua HK (L) and rose US (R).

The Carabo was reissued in 1974 as part of the Flying Colors line-up. Although most common in light green, a rare alternate version of the '74 Carabo can be found in yellow enamel.

A very rare yellow enamel Flying Colors Carabo in the blister! (Courtesy of J. Sweetring)

Color chart

US COLORS:	COMMENTS:
magenta	common
rose	common
light ("apple")	common
yellow	uncommon
hot pink	hard to find
blue	very hard to find
green	very hard to find
red	very hard to find
light blue	very hard to find
light green w/white interior	rare (pre-production?)
rose w/white interior	rare (pre-production?)
yellow w/white interior	rare (pre-production?)

HK COLORS:	COMMENTS:
blue	common
magenta	common
green	common
light green	uncommon
yellow	uncommon
red	hard to find
aqua	hard to find
blue w/white interior	hard to find
magenta w/white interior	hard to find
green w/white interior	very hard to find
red w/white interior	very hard to find
aqua w/white interior	rare

Hard-to-find aqua HK Carabos with white and brown interiors!

A rainbow of Carabos! That's a light blue Carabo in the blister pack.

A stunning hot pink US Carabo! (Courtesy of M. Fiamengo)

Rare for the Carabo and for the year! Light blue was used on very few castings in 1970.

A row of white interior Carabos!

A light green US Carabo with white interior.

Vive Bertone!

Photo & info credits: Ken Niles & Rick Wilson

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