90" Bertone

1999 Bertone Bella

A sports coupé prototype with the mechanical characteristics of the "beautiful" Alfa Romeo 166. Alfa coupés are a recurrent theme for Bertone, stemming from its deepest and strongest roots stretching back into the past. Names that immediately spring to mind include the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint of the fifties, the Alfa GT coupé of the sixties and the Alfa Montreal coupé of the seventies, models that marked the start of Italian-style Gran Turismo. With BELLA, Bertone wanted to explore a new formula that makes it possible to optimise the space of the so-called 2+2 coupés. BELLA is an elegant coupé full of zest, for grand tourism driving on long trips. A coupé that adapts with great versatility to all requirements and situations, with a forceful personality and dashing appearance. BELLA is designed for the Alfa Romeo 6-cylinder 3000cc and 166 KW engine.

1998 Bertone Pickster

PICKSTER half Roadster half Pickup. Almost unknown in Europe, the Pickup dominates the American automobile scene unrivalled. Suffice to consider that in the Top Ten most sold vehicles in the USA the Pickup is first and second and a third one is seventh. PICKSTER is the desire to infuse the Pickup with the spirit of Grand Tourism. An extreme styling where complex surfaces wrap muscles around the side panel. It grips the ground with its big 21" wheels covered with Michelin PAX tyres which allow the car to continue travelling even after a puncture. On board, PICKSTER uses the satellite navigator Route Planner. PICKSTER has been conceived for the BMW 6 cylinder 3.2i 24V Motorsport 320 HP power unit.

1996 Bertone Slalom

The Slalom represents a Bertone research project directed towards users at a high social and cultural level. A free and independent spirit. The desire for change. Passion for sports. An enthusiast of travel and dynamic use of leisure time. The Slalom is a car to be lived on the road or amid nature. Something different from merely "being transported". From the point of view of design, Slalom is an audacious treatment of volumes. Lines that intersect almost in a "Slalom" between full and transparent surfaces which outline forms and functions (headlamps, spoiler, etc.) .

1995 Bertone Kayak

A distinctively elegant, formal Bertone coupé on the Lancia Kappa mechanical base. From the aesthetic point of view Bertone was inspired by the glorious Lancia tradition. An eye on the future and the yet unexpressed potential of this legendary brand.

1994 Bertone Punto Racer

A Bertone proposal for a coupé on a Fiat Punto base. Declared target: an Italian Tiger. For this model, Bertone intentionally abandoned aggerated STYLING solutions to make the proposal more realistic and "feasible". In keeping with the research for synergic industrial feasibility, Bertone began the theme from the Punto Cabrio that the Bertone plant was already manufacturing.

1994 Bertone Karisma

How can we fail to be attracted by the unquestioned technical distinctiveness and "charisma" of Porsche? Bertone wanted to master the difficult theme of a comfortable 4-seater saloon with rear engine. Saloons with a rear engine had been widely popular for several decades, then they were supported by front wheel drive which offers undeniable advantages in luggage space. With the KARISMA, Bertone handled the project with the utmost exactitude. Though leaving the mechanical layout unchanged, Bertone succeeded in achieving a high-performance saloon with the interior spaciousness of a top-range vehicle and the outer dimensions of an average-sized car (4.5 m in total length). In addition to offering excellent access to the seats, the gull-wing doors give the prototype the appearance of a large-winged butterfly.

1992 Bertone Blitz

Prototype of a "super-niche", unconventional and provocative electric car closer to super-sprinty sports cars. It is a courageous, Formula 1 type interpretation, nice and pleasant, which develops the theme of the sports two seater with offset seats.

1990 Bertone Nivola

The Nivola may be considered Bertone’s homage to the most fascinating American sports car: the Chevrolet Corvette. The sophisticated mechanical unit of the ZR-1 was interpreted by Bertone in a European key. Bertone designed a special chassis to make a sporty "boat" with mid-engine. This mechanical layout made it possible to exploit all the power of the engine when accelerating and warrant perfect roadholding on bends. The name, Nivola, is after the famous driver, Tazio Nuvolari, nicknamed "Nivola", much admired by Bertone, who usually drove his cars dressed in yellow.

1970 Bertone Stratoso

Bertone’s intuition and experience with mid-engines inspired him to attempt something that had never been done before for Lancia products. The result was the Stratos, an experimental vehicle with Lancia Fulvia 1.6 HF central power unit; its futuristic appearance is characterised by the entrance to the car through a hatch/windscreen which opens on the front. The following year (1971) Bertone turned this successful intuition into the definitive version of the unbeatable Lancia Stratos Rally.

1969 Bertone Runabout

A model on Autobianchi A 112 mechanical units set at the rear which takes on a wedge like shape in the design of the body. The vehicle’s arrow shaping with the sporty windscreen and roll bar are highly original. It will be the design inspiration for the Fiat X1/9.

1968 Bertone Carabo

Futuristic study developed with advanced techniques, equipped with Alfa Romeo 33 mechanical system. The opening of the doors similar to the movement of the beetle’s elytrons and the golden iridescent green colour were the reasons behind its name.

1967 Bertone Marzal

Presented in 1967, the MARZAL still today represents one of Bertone’s most spectacular and involving models. It was made by Bertone to study a 2+2 sports coupe to be developed with Lamborghini. Two years later, in fact, the Lamborghini Espada was presented, which was a coupé with a 12-cylinder engine. In 1968, the Bertone MARZAL driven personally by Prince Ranier with Grace Kelly at his side, officially opened the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix.

1963 Bertone Testudo

The Testudo prototype, developed in 1963 is one of Bertone’s most significant prototypes. A concentration of highly innovative technical and aesthetic solutions. For many designers, the Testudo together with the Canguro of the following year were a basis of inspiration for a number of sports models. The choice of mechanical unit was original. At the time the CORVAIR was the American Porsche. In fact, the engine of the Testudo is a 6-cylinder, air-cooled Boxer fitted at the rear. Curiously, Nuccio Bertone actually drove the Testudo himself from Turin to Geneva (March 1963). In those days S. Bernardo and Mont Blanc tunnels linking Italy to Switzerland had not yet been built.

1937 Fiat 500 "Barchetta"

Nuccio Bertone, always a racing enthusiast, as soon as it was possible, built himself a small racing car with highly innovative criteria for the times - FIAT 500 chassis, short leaf spring, 2 carburators, aluminium body, spoked wheels, which he drove himself for his first Italian 500 class championship.

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