The resurrection of Bertone at Rétromobile 2020

This year’ Rétromobile included a thematic exhibition dedicated to the legendary Italian designer Bertone, creator of many legendary designs, mentor and cradle of some of the world’s greatest car designers, like Giorgetto Giuggiaro and Marcello Gandini. The company spawned some of the most fabulous car designs of modern history and built up its reputation since the 1920s. Nevertheless, they entered into financial difficulties by the 2000s that led to the company’s bankruptcy in 2014.

In September 2015, the Automotoclub Storico Italiano acquired the historical Carrozzeria Bertone collection in an auction. The collection was made up of 79 items, as well as chassis and design models. It is now on public display at the Volandia Museum at Milan’s Malpensa Airport. The photos I saw on Volandia did not seem that impressive, more of an immediate warehouse solution. Still, I was told that the Bertone Museum in Turin is currently being prepared for a grand opening next year to become a fully-fledged permanent museum. Having seen photos on the original Bertone site, I sure hope it will be at its former might and glory next year.

ASI showcased ten extraordinary prototypes at Rétromobile to illustrate the groundbreaking work of Bertone. These cars were built between 1969 and 2001, representing a combined cultural worth of nearly €2 million.

The first one on the timeline is a white Bertone Runabout from 1969. Bertone used mechanicals of the Autobianchi A112 to underpin an extravagant, wedge-shaped car that took several stylistic cues from powerboat designs, like the crazy headlights mounted on the back.

The layout makes a clear break with the popular front engine front wheel drive layout, and its mid-engine structure and design cues foreshadow the stylish Fiat X1/9.

The next car is a green Chevrolet Ramarro from 1984. Nuccio Bertone’s design aims to combine the Chevrolet Corvette’s technical platform with a revolutionary modern design in the spirit of sci-fi movies.

Behind those cars, there was a golden concept version of the Citroen BX awaited visitors. Or was it? Well… wrong!

This car is actually a Volvo Tundra from 1979, a concept that could have been the 400 series, had Volvo been a bit more crazy. Apart from his collaboration on mass-produced vehicles, Bertone’s work with Volvo resulted in the creation of the Tundra concept, based on the Volvo 343 equipped with a 1.4 L engine delivering 70 hp.

The car featured a highly modern, disjointed design, so much so that several of its stylistic innovations were reused on later Bertone models, most notably the Citroën BX.

The last car of the first stage is actually a Lamborghini (believe or not? : ) ). The last Bertone car based on a Lamborghini was baptised as the Genesis and was built in 1988.

Following the brilliant cooperation, that spawned legends like the Miura, Bertone decided to push the luxury mini-van concept to its limits with the Genesis. The car is practically a house on wheels fitted onto a rear V12 engine which could deliver 455 hp. Its gull-wing doors at the front were paired with two sliding doors in the rear and its modular interior, a bit like a reversed Tesla Model X.

The second stage goes on with an Opel Filo from 2001. To introduce drive-by-wire technology, a new human-machine interface was created in collaboration with SKF, without having recourse to pedals.

The Filo is a compact people-carrier with a luminous and aesthetic interior which would go on to influence Opel’s future models.

The 1986 Citroën Zabrus is based on the all-wheel-drive BX (not to be confused with the golden Tundra, that looks like the BX, but it is actually a Volvo). Bertone designed a 2+2 coupé, with an extremely tapered front, counterbalanced by a more voluminous rear.

A number of this car’s features were later used on the next ZX. At the same time, the upwards-opening scissor doors remained a short-lived experiment.

The golden Citroën Camargue should be familiar from last year’s Citroën anniversary stage, where it featured among the groundbreaking concept cars of the iconic French brand.

Bertone produced several prototypes based on Citroën vehicles. One was the Camargue, based on the Citroën GS saloon: an elegant 2+2 hatchback with a sloping rear window, sporting two glass windows separated by a prominent bow. As for the front, it sported a curved windscreen, typical of models from the early seventies.

The Ferrari brand was represented by the 1976 Rainbow concept. The car is based on the 308 GT4, that was designed by Nuccio Bertone, and was one of the first Ferraris not to be designed by Pininfarina.

The futuristic Rainbow model featured a rotating roof that could be stored between the passenger compartment and the mid-rear-mounted engine.

Probably the craziest of all the cars showcased was the lime-green 1972 Suzuki GO. This quite original, versatile vehicle was designed for transporting motorcycles, but could easily serve as a lorry in sci-fi movies.

The GO seems like a flat-bottomed boat, mounted on four wheels with a sleek and modern design. The concept was powered by a three-cylinder motorcycle engine with 750 ccs delivering 67 hp through a differential inverter with Bertone’s own patented chain-driven gearbox.

The last car is the most recent one of the bunch, an orange BMW Pickster from 1998. With an aggressive-looking bi-colour front and the 21-inch wheels, it may seem like a pick-up from a tuning show, the experimental chassis was built around a BMW engine (3.2 six.cylinder delivering 320 hp).

This was not the first time I met the legendary designer’s work, the last InterClassics in Brussels included a Bertone segment in their Greatest Italian Designers segment.

Nevertheless, it is great to see the revival of Bertone, even if it will be confined to a Museum only. The opening of a new museum will undoubtedly add another item on my Bucket list.

For the introduction to the Rétromobile event including links to the detailed impressions, please visit the main article: