Stile Bertone – Not Anymore!

Posted on Mar 17, 2018 in Antique | Comments Off on Stile Bertone – Not Anymore!

“Death ends a life, not a relationship.” – Mitch Albom

Bertone, once considered the Michelangelo of automotive design has filed for bankruptcy. Founded in 1912 by Giovanni Bertone, the company thrived under son Giuseppe “Nuccio” Bertone until his death in 1997. Since that time, Gruppo Bertone began an arduous death march into financial disaster, highlighted by monotonous battles between investors, the corporation, and Nuccio’s widow, Lilli Bertone.

Gruppo Bertone was sectioned into two divisions, Carrozzeria Bertone for manufacturing, and Stile Bertone for Styling. The manufacturing group was sold to FIAT in 2009, leaving Stile Bertone as a single entity. Yesterday, the 14th of July, the company officially entered bankruptcy and ended a futile attempt at finding a corporate savior. Just as Ferrari absorbed Scaglietti, Stile Bertone was hoping for Volkswagen or some other gullible manufacturer to come to the rescue. No one came. The assets of the company will be listed for sale as part of the proceedings.

Stile Bertone had been through this before…many, many times. In fact, the company and its plight had become something of a running joke in Italy…Stile Bertone? Not Anymore! The announcement of the end marks the death of one, and the birth of another. Though Stile Bertone is gone, the family still owns the name and brand.

The family plans on licensing both through Bertone Cento, the family owned company to Bertone Design of Milan. As with any conglomerate, the details are sketchy on how they will proceed, but their website strongly features Nuccio Bertone’s signature, as well as a full color history of the cars designed by Stile Bertone. The new company seems very at ease with claiming the pedigree and prestige of the now defunct brand. How this will influence future automotive design is yet to be seen.

One important asset in the sale of Stile Bertone is the extensive concept car collection. Deemed an item of historic national heritage, the collection must remain in Italy, and be sold as a unit. In 2011, six of the collections more impressive concepts were sold off by RM Auctions at an auction at Villa D’Este, Lake Como. Highlights were the sale of the Lancia Stratos HF Zero Concept which sold for 761,600 Euros and the Lamborghini Marzal Concept which sold for 1.5 million Euros.

Stile Bertone styled many of the most beautiful and innovative cars ever created, and the studio was home to many of the world’s greatest car designers. Names like Scaglione, Michelotti, Giugiaro, Gandini, and Count Maio Reveli de Beaumont have graced the Hall of Fame wining design house since the 1920’s. The creations of Stile Bertone include paragons of the automotive world such as the Miura, Countach, Marzal, the Lancia Stratos, the Cizeta as well as the amazing Alfa Romeo BAT (Berlinetta Aerodinamica Technia) cars. In fact, Bertone has created cars as diverse as the Chevrolet Camaro, FIAT X1/9, Pontiac Fiero, FIAT Dino, Volvo 780 and the Citroen XM.

Though not a complete list, this inventory was obtained from Wikipedia and highlights the list of impressive cars created by Stile Bertone, as well as many that remain in the Bertone collection.

1952 Abarth 1500 Biposto

1953 Arnolt-MG Convertible and Coupe

1953 Alfa Romeo BAT-5

1953 Fiat 1100 TV

1953 Fiat 8V Spider

1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 Sport Spider

1954 Alfa Romeo 2000 Sportiva

1954 Alfa Romeo BAT-7

1954 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint

1954 Arnolt Aston Martin DB2/4 Spider

1955 Alfa Romeo BAT-9

1955 Arnolt-Bristol Spider and Coupe

1958 Abarth 1000 GT Coupé

1959 NSU Sport Prinz

1959 Ferrari 250 GT SWB “Competition” Berlinetta Speciale

1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale

1960 Gordon-Keeble

1960 NSU Wankel Spider

1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Jet

1962 Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint

1962 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint

1962 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale

1962 Alfa Romeo GTA

1962 ASA 1200 G.T. Coupé Bertone[6]

1962 BMW 3200 CS

1962 Iso Rivolta

1962 Simca 1000

1964 Alfa Romeo Canguro

1965 Abarth OT 1000 Spider

1965 Fiat 850 Spider

1965 Iso Grifo

1965 Mazda Luce

1967 Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior

1967 Alfa Romeo Montreal

1967 Fiat Dino Coupé

1967 Jaguar Pirana

1967 Lamborghini Marzal

1967 Lamborghini Miura

1967 Simca 1200S Coupé

1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo

1968 Fiat 850 Sport Spider

1968 Lamborghini Espada

1968 Lambretta Luna Range: Lui/Vega/Cometa

1969 BMW 2800 Spicup[7]

1969 Iso Lele

1969 Lambretta GP/DL Scooter

1970 Lancia Stratos Zero

1970 Lamborghini Urraco

1970 BMW Garmisch 2200Ti (led to BMW 5-series)

1971 Lamborghini Countach

1972 Lancia Stratos

1972 Fiat X1/9 (also badged as a Bertone and built on Bertone’s own line)

1972 Citroen Camargue

1972 Maserati Khamsin

1973 NSU Trapeze

1974 Lamborghini Bravo

1974 Ferrari 208/308 GT4

1974 Maserati Quattroporte II

1976 Alfa Romeo Navajo

1976 Ferrari Rainbow

1977 Volvo 262C

1977 Jaguar Ascot

1978 Fiat Ritmo

1978 Alfa Romeo Alfetta

1978 Lancia Sibilo

1979 Volvo Tundra

1980 Alfa Romeo Alfetta 2000

1980 Lamborghini Athon

1981 Mazda MX-81

1981 Mercedes Benz Limousine W126 Not available to the public since only three were built as Special Commissioned State Limousines and tagged with 500SEL emblem, built for heads of state.

1982 Citroën BX

1983 Alfa Romeo Delfino

1984 Chevrolet Camaro

1984 Alfa Romeo 90

1985 Volvo 780

1986 Citroen Zabrus

1986 Pontiac Fiero GT

1987 Škoda Favorit

1987 Opel Kadett E Cabrio

1988 Lamborghini Genesis

1989 Citroën XM

1989 Bertone Freeclimber

1990 Lamborghini Diablo

1990 Chevrolet Nivola

1990 Daewoo Espero

1991 Citroën ZX

1991 Cizeta-Moroder V16T

1992 Bertone Blitz

1993 Citroën Xantia

1994 Opel Astra Cabrio

1995 Fiat Punto Cabriolet

1998 BMW Pickster

2001 Opel Astra Coupe/Cabrio

2003 Alfa Romeo GT

2003 Bertone Birusa

2003 Changhe Ideal

2004 Bertone Aston Martin Vanquish Jet 2

2005 Bertone Villa

2006 Bertone Suagna

2006 BMW Younique (custom-built one-off)

2006 Mini Cooper GP

2007 Bertone Fiat Barchetta

2008 Chery Kimo

2008 Alfa Romeo BAT-11

2009 Bertone Mantide

2009 Chevrolet Niva

2009 Riich G5

2010 Alfa Romeo Pandion

2011 Jaguar B99

2012 Bertone Nuccio

2013 Aston Martin Rapide Bertone Jet 2+2