The Wonderful Alfa Romeo GT Cabrio that Never Was...

The Alfa Romeo GT was a fairly successful small coupe built between 2003 and 2010. Its clean styling courtesy of the Bertone design house and its sweet handling led to sales of 80,832 units worldwide. But did you know that Bertone also conceived a convertible version of the car? In 2003, the Italian design house and coachbuilder built a one-off, four-seat soft-top version of the GT for Alfa Romeo, in order to convince them it was worth making.

Read more »

Jaguar Dismisses Bertone's B99 Sports Sedan Concept

One of the highlights of this year's Geneva Motor Show was the B99 design study for an entry-level Jaguar sedan by Bertone. The concept car was created independently by the Italian design house, without the involvement of Jaguar. Therefore, the B99 does not preview the design of the future X-Type, as confirmed by a top Jaguar executive.

“It is not our concept. We appreciate the fact that Jaguar is interesting enough for people to do a concept around. It's not that we are offended by it, or against it - it is just not for us," Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar's global brand director, told Automotive News at the Geneva Motor Show.

Read more »

Video of Bertone's B99 Baby Jaguar Concept for a BMW 3-Series Rival

One of the most talked about prototype models at this year's edition of the Geneva Motor Show is Bertone's concept for an entry-level Jaguar sports sedan called the B99. While the British automaker has turned a new page with the designs of its latest XF and XJ saloons, Bertone proposes a modernized version of the classic Jaguar three-box saloon. For some it works fine, for others it's an unnecessary throwback to old times. Watch the video after the break and tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Read more »

Geneva 2011: Bertone B99 asks, "Can't we All Just Forget About the X-Type?"

Bertone and Jaguar have joined forces again, and the result is this lovely little concept called the B99. Celebrating 99 years of existence, Bertone's B99 is meant to showcase what a Jaguar 3-Series could look like (and thankfully there's no silly black C-pillar as found on the XJ). While some may disagree with this design's placement in the lineup, one thing is certain: an X-Type this ain't.

The B99 measures 4.5 meters long, 1.35 m tall, and 1.95 m wide with a 2.8 m wheelbase. As befits all Jaguars, there's a leaper on the hood; this time, though, it uses some snazzy pedestrian safety sensors that can retract it at airbag speeds should an impaling be imminent. Think of it as dab of Rolls with your Jaguar.

There's more retraction action at the trunk end of things, too, with a speed-sensing spoiler in the trunk.

Read more »

2007 Bertone Barchetta

(from Bertone Press Release) Bertone presents the Barchetta concept car in celebration of its 95th anniversary. Based on the floorpan and mechanicals of the Fiat Panda 100 HP, the Bertone Barchetta is an open-topped strictly two-seater sports car that calls to mind the Italian racing cars of the 1950s. In this case, the design explicitly cites the Fiat 500 with Barchetta bodywork created by the young Nuccio Bertone in 1947 as a one-off for his personal use in races.

The decision to celebrate the company’s 95th anniversary with a minimalist yet sophisticated model is perfectly in keeping with the Bertone philosophy. Since its very earliest days, the company has interpreted cars by Italian car makers with an elegant style that emphasises their personality and technological content, with an unparalleled passion for sportiness.

Bertone’s choice of the Fiat brand to celebrate its 95th anniversary was both natural and emotional. Natural because Fiat is the Italian brand par excellence. Emotional because the birth of Bertone as a coachbuilder of “special” vehicles is closely linked to the history of the Fiat brand. The historic relationship between the two companies has lasted for more than eighty years and has generated more than fifty highly successful models counting concept cars, one-offs and production cars, from the 850 Spider to the X1/9, from the Ritmo Cabrio to the Punto Cabrio.

Styling

The Bertone Barchetta is the product of innovative styling which still manages to evoke the historic traditions of the company. The compact, muscular body, with its high, taut waistline, is defined by two aluminium shells joined by a large glazed surface that crosses the doors and extends into the bonnet join line before spawning the low, wraparound windscreen.

The first impression is of a tensed body, characterised by fluid volumes and clean-cut lines, creating classic, dynamic proportions. The result is a car which, in keeping with the best Bertone traditions, is completely above fashion; if anything, it makes its own fashion statement with an uninhibited, futuristic style that projects the concept of the Barchetta – a historic icon in the legend of Italian motorsports – into the future with purposeful elegance and sophisticated irony.

The exterior

The upper shell is entirely hand beaten and polished by the master panel beaters still working for Bertone today. This single piece of aluminium extends like a cloak from the front tip of the bonnet to embrace the upper part of the sides and rear arches, terminating in the tail. In the side view, the aluminium sheet twists at the level of the rear wheelarch, creating a muscle that melts away into the tail volume. This is a typical Bertone styling cue, imbuing the car as a whole with a powerful sense of sporting aggressiveness.

The lower shell originates from a large sideskirt that tapers towards the rear wheelarch, contributing to the sloping effect of the side.

The decision to extend the glazing to the doors was taken for both functional and emotive reasons. Functionally, it improves visibility, whereas emotively, the solution emphasises the sensation of freedom that only open-topped driving can produce.

The rearward opening scissor doors, hinged around the rear wheelarch, are a Bertone patent. This is in keeping with the company’s historic attention to the specific issue of accessibility, interpreted always with surprising solutions, such as the cockpit canopy of the Testudo (1962), the double gull wings of the Marzal (1967), the hinged windscreen of the Stratos 0 (1970) and the large gate-like sliding doors of the Villa (2005).

The front features LED lights and a closed, floating grille embossed in the metalwork. The rising bonnet line is interrupted by an air vent for the engine. The rear volume is framed by LED lights which point up the muscular width. At the centre of the tail volume is a small luggage compartment, with a cover trimmed in the same leather used for the interior.

The cabin

The cabin, delimited by the wraparound windscreen and rear roll bar and furnished with sophisticated minimalism and minute attention to detail, is directly inspired by the 1947 Fiat 500 Barchetta. The anatomic seats, upholstered in natural leather, are fixed and sculpted directly into the metalwork. A console area between the two seats includes a stowage tray and an iPod dock.

The adjustable dash is anchored to two exposed rails and painted in glossy white. The instruments are essential and easy to read, with a speedometer, gauges for water and oil temperature and a fuel gauge.

Air flow within the cabin is assisted by two centrally mounted exposed fans, covered by a protective grille The gearlever is machined from a solid billet of aluminium and is hand polished. As with competition ‘Barchetta’ models, the driving control mechanisms are all exposed.

Dimensions

Length: 3,585 mm
Width: 1,705 mm
Height: 1,090 mm
Wheelbase: 2,300 mm
Wheels: 20” alloys
Tyres: Pirelli 225/30 R20

Bertone Barchetta Concept

GENEVA — The legendary Italian design studio Bertone introduced its Barchetta concept at the Geneva auto show, with a design that harks back to happier times in the company's history.

Giovanni Bertone set up a body shop in Turin in 1912. Nuccio, his son, transformed the company into a styling studio and then expanded into manufacturing. Nuccio died in 1997 and the company has been losing important clients during the last couple of years, increasingly relying on work from China to keep afloat.

But here in Geneva, Bertone showed the old spirit is still alive with the Barchetta. The barchetta (Italian for "small boat") is a typical Italian body style, sitting somewhere between a windshield-less spyder and a roadster. Barchettas were very popular in Italy during the late 1940s and '50s; the first Ferraris were barchettas.

Nuccio also created a barchetta off the minuscule Fiat 500 in 1947 for his personal use. This prototype was the inspiration for the current Barchetta concept. This one is based on the recently introduced Fiat Panda 100 HP, a scorching version of the Italian supermini.

The 151.7-inch Barchetta has Lamborghini-style suicide doors, LED front lights and a shiny aluminum body — all traits that make it an interesting showcar. Inside, the two seats are fixed, but the dash is adjustable.