The history of Carrozzeria Bertone – Between Elegance and Extreme

A simple letter on a car can sometimes be the difference between a mass product and a design icon. Like the B on the vehicles from the Carrozzeria Bertone.

Italian design stands for beauty and elegance. Quite often both can be found in the “ordinary” models from Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Ferrari or FIAT; but most certainly in the vehicles that were developed by Italian design offices such as Bertone.

THE HISTORY OF CARROZZERIA BERTONE

The Carrozzeria Bertone was founded in 1912. At that time much of the work was still hard manual labor most of which doesn’t exist anymore. The company SPA, Società Ligure Piemontese Automobili, which later merged with FIAT, placed the first order with Carrozzeria Bertone. Bertone was to build a torpedo body for the 23S model. It should be noted that this first order did not arrive until 1921, nine years after Bertone’s company was founded. In the years to come, the development from a handicraft business to a genuine body factory was slow. Most of the time it was about body structures, like the Lancia Lambda.

THE BREAKTHROUGH OF CARROZZERIA BERTONE

Bertone’s great rise began under the aegis of Giuseppe “Nuccio” Bertone, Giovanni’s son. He joined the company in 1934 and three years later the Carrozzeria Bertone won a competition in Turin with a streamlined design for a FIAT 1500.

In 1954 the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint was introduced at the Turin Motor Show and immediately  set design standards. It even featured in the movie ” Les choses de la vie ” with Michel Piccoli and Romy Schneider and continues to cast a spell on enthusiasts until today. The design of the Giulietta was a co-production between Mario Felice Boano from Carrozzeria Ghia and Franco Scaglione, Bertone’s chief designer. Since the model was built at Bertone’s in Turin, Ghia’s share in the design is somewhat forgotten. Bertone has always been closely associated with Alfa Romeo. Just think of  the Giulia GT, the Montreal, the admittedly rather inconspicuous Alfa 90 from the 80s and the revolutionary studies and prototypes BAT 5, 7, 9 and 11. But also numerous other manufacturers made use of Bertone’s design services. The Lamborghini Espada and Miura stem from his pen, but also the ISO Grifo, Lele as well as the FIAT 850 Spider.

THE CAROZZERIA BERTONE STYLE

The whole creativity of a design office is not really expressed through serie vehicles, but rather in the studies and prototypes they produce. In these the designers can roam free and record a vision of the mobility of the future on a white sheet of paper without boundaries or constraints. One such prototypes was the Alfa Romeo Carabo, which attracted attention at the Paris Motor Show in 1968. Its hard wedge-like design language actually set a trend that not only the subsequent Bertone vehicles incorporated. Based on the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, chief designer Marcello Gandini put such an uncompromising design on wheels that the vehicle was bound to cause reactions. Fortunately many manufacturers reacted rather supportive, so this new Bertone style would shape the house designs for years to come. In the Maserati Khamsin, the Lamborghini Countach and perhaps most consistently in the Lancia Stratos, the wedge shape was trump.

With the oil crisis of 1972, Bertone learned that life doesn’t just consist of flagship projects as potent sports cars were no longer in demand. The Carrozzeria Bertone devoted its time, among other things, to converting the FIAT Ritmo to a convertible and the FIAT X1 / 9  as well as the  first Volkswagen Polo Type 86. It was however clear the company wasn’t doing very well anymore. Definite proof was the moment they put their branding on the Opel Astra Cabriolet and Daihatsu SUV. The company was smashed in the mid-2000s, leaving only the design office. In 2011 even the table silver had to be sold. At an auction in the Villa d’Este, the Lamborghini Marzal changed hands for around 1.5 million euros, and the Lancia Stratos Zero brought in around 760,000 euros. In 2014 the curtain fell for the design office as well. The French company AKKA Technologies however bought the name in 2016 thus keeping it alive.

Conclusion

But what remains are the numerous influential models designed by Bertone. In terms of elegance they were always somewhat overshadowed by the great competitor Pininfarina. But with the Lancia Stratos and Lamborghini Countach, Bertone made it very clear that a reserved, elegant design was never the primary goal to start with. Lucky for us as we can enjoy design classics that polarize and inspire to this day.

Photos Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., DK Engineering, ChromeCars, Bastian Voigt Collectors Cars

Author: Paolo Ollig

As editor-in-chief Paolo regularly writes about all the big and small stories related to classic cars and motorbikes. Classic dreams: Lamborghini Countach and Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. View all posts by Paolo Ollig →