Gruppo Bertone, commonly known as Bertone, was an Italian industrial design company which specialized in car styling, coachbuilding and manufacturing. It was also a car manufacturing company.

thumb|Bertone logo from an Opel Astra G Coupe Bertone

The company was based in Grugliasco, northern Italy. Gruppo Bertone was founded as Carrozzeria Bertone in 1912 by Giovanni Bertone. Designer Nuccio Bertone took charge of the company after World War II and the company was divided into two units: Carrozzeria for manufacturing and Stile Bertone for styling. Until its bankruptcy in 2014, the company was headed by the widow of Nuccio Bertone, Lilli Bertone. At the time of bankruptcy, it had around 100 direct employees. In 2014, most employees lost their jobs and were not absorbed by following acquisitions. Cars from the company museum went to other museums, like Automotoclub Storico Italiano and Volandia.

After its bankruptcy, the Bertone name was acquired by an architect and retained by some of its former employees, who continued as a Milan-based small external design office, Bertone Design, more focused on industrial design and architecture. Bertone Design was sold to the group AKKA Technologies in the second quarter of 2016, which already had automotive design activities through Mercedes-Benz Technologies. The AKKA Technologies group subsequently sold the Bertone brand in 2020 to Mauro and Jean-Franck Ricci, the new owners. In 2022, Mauro and Jean-Franck Ricci revived the Bertone brand. The first in a series of limited edition vehicles, the GB110, was presented in December 2022, then unveiled in June 2024.

History

Early years

Giovanni Bertone started a carriage manufacturing business in Turin, Italy, at the age of 28. Along with three workers, he built horse-drawn vehicles. In 1914, Bertone's second son, Giuseppe, nicknamed "Nuccio", was born. The outbreak of the First World War forced Giovanni Bertone to close his company. In 1920, a new plant was opened near the Monginevro 119 in Turin. Twenty people were on the payroll. One year later, a contract on a torpedo-styled body based on the SPA 23S chassis was signed by the company. Then, the FIAT "501 Sport Siluro Corsa" was designed.

During the 1920s, Giovanni Bertone began doing bodywork on the Fast, Chiribiri, Aurea, SCAT, and Diatto chassis. Vincenzo Lancia nicknamed him "Bertunot"; he commissioned Bertone to create cars for the "limited series". Giovanni Bertone produced torpedo and saloon bodies for FIAT and Lancia and for Itala, Diatto, and SPA. Alongside sports models like the 1928 Ansaldo 6BS, Giovanni Bertone also designed cars like the Fiat 505 limousine and the Itala 51S, both in 1924. He later designed the Lancia Lambda VIII Series in 1928. In 1932, Giovanni designed the Lancia Artena, which was produced until 1936. In 1933, Nuccio Bertone officially began working in his father's company. The company moved to Corso Peschiera 225. Gruppo Bertone now had fifty members of staff. In 1934, Bertone created the Fiat 527S Ardita 2500.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, Bertone reacted to the crisis by turning to manufacturing military vehicles. The company created vehicles such as the Bertone ambulance on a Lancia Artena base. The chassis Fiat 2800 cabriolet was manufactured; it was built on commission for race driver and motoring journalist Giovanni Lurani Cernuschi. Nuccio Bertone also created cars like the Lancia Aprilia Cabriolet, the Fiat 1100 Stanguellini racing car, and the Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica (BAT) concept cars.

In 1956, they produced the Abarth 750 Record; it was built on a Fiat 600 chassis and tested on the high-speed track at Monza. Abarth 750 Record sets ten world records, including doing at an average of 156.36 km/h and covering 10,125.26 km in 72 hours. In 1957, the company expanded to start the production of the NSU Sport Prinz. Construction work began in Grugliasco for a new plant that became operative in 1959 with a workforce of 550. At the end of the 1950s, Bertone created the Giulietta Sprint Speciale, the Aston Martin DB2/4, and the Maserati 3500 GT. The Iso Rivolta GT 300, the Iso Rivolta GT 340, and the Iso Grifo were also created in the 1960s. Giorgetto Giugiaro designed a prototype cabriolet of the latter and a racing version known as the A3C. The Grifo years were also the years of the Chevrolet Testudo, driven personally by Nuccio Bertone to the Geneva Motor Show in 1963. The following year, they created the Alfa Romeo Canguro, followed in 1965 by the Alfa Romeo Giulia GT.

In 1965, Bertone launched the Fiat 850 Spider. The commercial success of this model led Nuccio Bertone to increase the company's production capacity to 120 units per day. Between 1965 and 1972, nearly 140,000 were produced, the great majority of which were sold in the United States. With the Fiat 850, the company increased its production volumes, from 13,000 units produced in 1966 to nearly 30,000 in 1968. Bertone underwent a major restructuring process. By then, the Bertone workforce had dropped to roughly 300 people, mainly engineers and designers. The financial situation continued, prompting Bertone to sell off some of its concept cars in 2011. After having ceased trading because of financial difficulties, Bertone, on 18 March 2014, They also formed a partnership with Citroën, but since the 2013 acquisition of the name, a car prototype or series was never made.

In June 2016, the Bertone brand was acquired for more than by AKKA Technologies, an engineering company. The rights to use the brand, however, were shared with Bertone Design which does not have the authorization to use it in the automotive field. Starting from November 2018, AKKA Technologies sold the license to use the Bertone brand in the electric automotive sector to Flymove Holding Limited UK, which in May 2019 proceeded with the definitive purchase of the brand for all applications and sectors. They relaunched Bertone through the presentation of new models of electric cars designed by Carlos Arroyo Turon (former Bertone Designer) and which use the battery swap system.

thumb|Bertone GB110 at Auto Zürich, November 2024

The AKKA Technologies group subsequently sold the Bertone brand to Ideactive, a company owned by Mauro and Jean-Franck Ricci. In 2022, the two Ricci brothers revived the Bertone brand. The first in a series of limited edition vehicles, the GB110, was launched in December 2022. In June 2024, the Bertone GB110 was publicly unveiled at Top Marques Monaco. In 2026, Bertone introduced the Runabout, a rear mid-engine sports car with a Toyota-sourced V6 engine, limited to 25 units, with a design inspired by the 1969 Autobianchi A112 Runabout concept car.

Design and production activity

Passenger car designs

{|class="wikitable sortable"

|+Concept cars and specials

!width=200px| Model ||width=40px| Year || Image

|-

| Abarth 1500 Biposto || 1952 || frameless|100px

|-

| Abarth OT 1000 Spider || 1965 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo 2000 Sportiva || 1954 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo BAT 11 || 2008 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo BAT 5 || 1953 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo BAT 7 || 1954 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo BAT 9 || 1955 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Bella || 1999 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Canguro || 1964 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Carabo || 1968 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Delfino || 1983 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Montreal || 1967 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Navajo || 1976 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Pandion || 2010 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Sportut || 1997 || frameless|100px

|-

| Aston Martin DB4 GT Jet || 1961 || frameless|100px

|-

| Aston Martin Rapide Jet 2+2 || 2013 || frameless|100px

|-

| Aston Martin Vanquish Jet 2 || 2004 || frameless|100px

|-

| Autobianchi A112 Runabout || 1969 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone Birusa || 2003 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone Blitz || 1992 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone Dianchè BSS GT One || 2018 ||

|-

| Bertone Cadillac Villa || 2005 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone Fiat Barchetta || 2007 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone GT One || 2018 ||

|-

| Bertone Mantide || 2009 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone Nuccio || 2012 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone Porsche Karisma || 1994 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone Porsche 911(996) || 1992 ||

|-

| Bertone Porsche 911 2.0 Roadster || 1966 ||

|-

| Bertone Porsche Boxster(986) || 1992 ||

|-

| Bertone Pickster|| 1998 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone Slim || 2000 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone Suagnà || 2006 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone BMW Spicup || 1969 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone BMW Garmisch|| 1970 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone BMW Younique|| 2006 || frameless|100px

|-

| Chevrolet Testudo || 1963 || frameless|100px

|-

| Chevrolet Nivola || 1990 || frameless|100px

|-

| Chevrolet Ramarro || 1984 || frameless|100px

|-

| Citroën GS Camargue || 1972 || frameless|100px

|-

| Citroën Zabrus || 1986 || frameless|100px

|-

| Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Speciale || 1959 || frameless|100px

|-

| Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Speciale || 1962 || frameless|100px

|-

| Ferrari Rainbow || 1976 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat 125 Executive || 1967 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat 127 Village || 1974 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat 128 Coupé || 1969 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat Cinquecento Rush || 1992 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat Punto Racer || 1994 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat Bravo Enduro || 1996 || frameless|100px

|-

| Ford Mustang Bertone || 1965 || frameless|100px

|-

| Innocenti 186 GT || 1964 || frameless|100px

|-

| Jaguar Ascot || 1977 || frameless|100px

|-

| Jaguar B99 || 2011 || frameless|100px

|-

| Jaguar FT Coupé || 1966 || frameless|100px

|-

| Jaguar Pirana || 1967 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lamborghini Athon || 1980 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lamborghini Bravo || 1974 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lamborghini Genesis || 1988 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lamborghini Marzal || 1967 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lancia Kayak || 1994 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lancia Sibilo || 1978 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lancia Stratos Zero || 1970 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lancia Stratos HF prototype || 1971 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lotus Emotion || 1991 || frameless|100px

|-

| Maserati 5000 GT Bertone || 1961 || frameless|100px

|-

| Mazda MX-81 || 1981 || frameless|100px

|-

| NSU Trapeze || 1973 || frameless|100px

|-

| Opel Filo || 2001 || frameless|100px

|-

| Opel Slalom || 1996 || frameless|100px

|-

| Saab Novanta || 2002 || frameless|100px

|-

| Suzuki Go || 1972 || frameless|100px

|-

| Volvo Tundra || 1979 || frameless|100px

|}

{|class="wikitable sortable"

|+Production cars

!width=200px| Model ||width=40px| Year || Image

|-

| Abarth 1000 GT Coupé || 1958 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo 1900 Sport Spider || 1954 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo 2000/2600 Sprint || 1960 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo 90 || 1984 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT Veloce || 1967 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint || 1954 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Giulietta/Giulia Sprint Speciale || 1960 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo GT || 2003 || frameless|100px

|-

| Alfa Romeo Montreal || 1970 || frameless|100px

|-

| Arnolt-Aston Martin DB2/4 Spider || 1954 || frameless|100px

|-

| Arnolt-Bristol || 1955 || frameless|100px

|-

| Arnolt-MG || 1953 || frameless|100px

|-

| ASA 1000 GT || 1962 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone Freeclimber || 1989 || frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone GB110 || 2023|| frameless|100px

|-

| Bertone Runabout || 2026 || frameless|100px

|-

| BMW 3200 CS || 1962 || frameless|100px

|-

| Changhe Ideal || 2003 || frameless|100px

|-

| Chery A1 || 2008 || frameless|100px

|-

| Chevrolet Niva (restyling) || 2009 || frameless|100px

|-

| Citroën BX || 1982 || frameless|100px

|-

| Citroën Xantia || 1993 || frameless|100px

|-

| Citroën XM || 1989 || frameless|100px

|-

| Citroën ZX || 1991 || frameless|100px

|-

| Daewoo Espero || 1990 || frameless|100px

|-

| Ferrari 208/308 GT4 || 1974 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat 1100 TV || 1953 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat 131 Abarth || 1976 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat 850 Spider || 1965 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat 8V Spider || 1953 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat Dino || 1967 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat X1/9 || 1972 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat Ritmo Cabrio || 1978 || frameless|100px

|-

| Fiat Panda || 2003 || frameless|100px

|-

| Innocenti Mini || 1974 || frameless|100px

|-

| Iso Grifo || 1965 || frameless|100px

|-

| Iso Lele || 1969 || frameless|100px

|-

| Iso Rivolta IR || 1962 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lamborghini Countach || 1971 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lamborghini Espada || 1968 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lamborghini Jalpa || 1981 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lamborghini Jarama || 1970 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lamborghini Miura || 1967 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lamborghini Silhouette || 1976 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lamborghini Urraco || 1970 || frameless|100px

|-

| Lancia Stratos HF || 1972 || frameless|100px

|-

| Gordon-Keeble || 1960 || frameless|100px

|-

| Maserati Khamsin || 1972 || frameless|100px

|-

| Maserati Quattroporte II || 1974 || frameless|100px

|-

| Mazda Luce || 1965 || frameless|100px

|-

| Mercedes-Benz W126 Limousine || 1981 || frameless|100px

|-

| NSU Spider || 1960 || frameless|100px

|-

| NSU Sport Prinz || 1959 || frameless|100px

|-

| Opel Astra F Cabrio || 1994 || frameless|100px

|-

| Opel Astra G Cabrio || 2001 || frameless|100px

|-

| Opel Astra G Coupé || 2001 || frameless|100px

|-

| Opel Kadett E Cabrio || 1987 || frameless|100px

|-

| Riich G5 || 2009 || frameless|100px

|-

| Simca 1000 Coupé || 1962 || frameless|100px

|-

| Simca 1200 S Coupé || 1967 || frameless|100px

|-

| Škoda Favorit || 1987 || frameless|100px

|-

| Stanguellini 1100 Berlinetta || 1953 || frameless|100px

|-

| Volvo 780 || 1985 || frameless|100px

|}

Motorcycle designs

thumb|Lambretta Luna Range

  • Lambretta Luna Range: Lui/Vega/Cometa (1968)
  • Lambretta GP/DL (1969)

Vehicles produced by Bertone, but not of Bertone design

  • BMW C1 (2000–2003)
  • Fiat Punto Cabrio (1995–1999)
  • Mini Cooper GP (2006)
  • Volvo 262C (1977–1981)

Notable designers

  • Giovanni Bertone (1912–1945)
  • Mario Revelli di Beaumont (1933–1954)
  • Giovanni Michelotti (1950–1954)
  • Franco Scaglione (1952–1959)
  • Giorgetto Giugiaro (1959–1965)
  • Marcello Gandini (1965–1979)
  • Marc Deschamps (1970s–1974; 1979–1992)
  • Luciano D'Ambrosio (1992–2001)
  • Giuliano Biasio (1980–1990; 1997–2006)
  • David Wilkie (2007–2008)
  • Jason Castriota (2008–2009)
  • Michael Vernon Robinson (2009–2013)

References

Further reading

  • AutoCar (November 26, 2007) "Bertone's on the brink"
  • Automotive World (November 27, 2007) "Carrozzeria Bertone files for bankruptcy protection". .
  • AutoWeek (January 2, 2008) "New white knight emerges for Bertone"
  • Official website
  • Posters for 100 years anniversary of Bertone