Since 1952, Abarth has been a name associated with high performance Fiat cars. Abarth initially collaborated with Fiat as an independent company, yet in 1971, Fiat purchased Abarth, consequently making it their performance branch, similar to BMW's 'M' Division. During large parts of the 1950's and 1960's, Abarth tuned numerous Fiat cars, creating their own variants on existing platforms. Some of these notable cars include the 595 SS, the 695 SS, the 750, the 850 Allemano and the 1000 Zagato. In 1981, Fiat absorbed Abarth, eventually discontinuing the brand. In 2007, the brand was revived as a performance division of Fiat.