The fully functional prototype that is propelled by a mid-mounted 4.3-liter V8 engine with an estimated output of 480-horses caught the attention of an affluent Chinese collector who is interested in buying the car.
Read more »
The Italian design house says that the new concept is tasked to "carry the moral legacy of the Master into the new millennium, confirming Bertone once again among the international leaders of car design."
The Nuccio is a fully functional prototype powered by a mid-mounted, 480HP 4.3-liter V8. It measures 4,800mm in length, 1,950mm in width and 1,220mm in height, with a 2,600mm wheelbase.
Bertone says that the Nuccio harks back to some of its best concept cars such as the 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo, the 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero and the 1971 Lamborghini Countach.
Read more »
Now, Bertone has issued three new renderings that clearly depict the shape and styling of the Nuccio Concept while also providing some initial facts on the car.
Read more »
For the time being, all we get from Bertone are two sketchy renderings that hint at an edgy design, possibly inspired from the Italian company's wedge-shaped supercars of the 1970s.
Read more »
Designed by the great Bertone, it was based on Ferrari mechanics using a modified version of the Dino's 2.4-liter V6. The Stratos was an extremely successful racing car winning three consecutive World Rally Championships in 1974, 1975, and 1976.
Read more »
So what delectable concepts were the vultures able to get their beaks into? Well, there’s the 1967 Lamborghini Marzal that once graced the Monaco Grand Prix and is often cited as the inspiration for the Espada of the following year.
Read more »
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 »
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 »
While it might look like a long limousine, the Italian design house's B99 concept is just 4.5 meters long. Combine this with the very low height (1.35 meters) and the pretty wide body (1.95 meters) and you have a small sedan looking like a much bigger and more luxurious model, whose profile brings to mind the classic Jaguar XJ.
The B99 is a conceptual proposal for a 'baby' Jaguar model targeting the likes of the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes C-Class saloons. The concept will feature a traditional four-door sedan body with more classic proportions and styling cues than the XJ and XF.
Read more »
Named after a species of raptors, more commonly referred to as the sea hawk, Bertone's Pandion concept is loosely based on the Alfa Romeo 8c Competizone using the same high-revving 450HP 4.7-liter V8 engine.
Joining the celebrations for Alfa Romeo's centenary, Stile Bertone will pop the covers off a new concept model at next month's Geneva Salon. The Italian design house, which was recently left independent after the Fiat Group acquired the firm's manufacturing facilities, released a shady teaser sketch of the Alfa Romeo concept that is rumored (but not confirmed) to be based on the 8c Competizione model.
The Fiat Group's appetite for acquiring automakers has yet to lose its edge. Today it was confirmed that Fiat S.p.A will make a 'non-binding offer' for Italian automotive design and contract manufacturing firm, Carrozeria Bertone that could be sold as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. It is reported that the deadline to make bids for the Italian coachbuilder is Thursday, July 16 with court administrators planning to have the sale completed by the end of the month. Other companies interested in buying Bertone are said to include Chinese automaker FAW, an unnamed Spanish consortium and Italian entrepreneurs Gianmario Rossignolo and Domenico Reviglio.
Aside from the Carrozeria Bertone's design and engineering capability for specialty vehicles and concept cars, the firm also has a manufacturing plant in Turin. According to the coachbuilder's official site, the Grugliasco factory covers a total area of 310,000 sq.m. and has a potential output of around 70,000 vehicles per year.
The maker of the Corvette ZR-1 based Mantide concept supercar currently employs 1,140 people, down from 1,450 at the end of 2007.
Via: Autonews (Sub. Req.)
Eventually, even the always news-hungry online media became tired of Bertone's overzealous efforts to promote the Corvette ZR1 based concept car, so the last episode of the company's multi-part series documenting the design and development of the Mantide went by unnoticed the most part. Which is actually a shame as the tenth episode is probably the most interesting of the series. It includes a mini interview with the Mantide's designer, Jason Castriota, as well as new shots of the controversially styled supercar that may be produced in a limited run of up to 10 examples. Check out the video and the latest photos after the jump.
Many may find the Bertone Mantide's design controversial, to say the least, but there's no doubt that every rare supercar has its place in the world of automotive collectors. So it comes to no surprise that according to Bertone's chief designer and the man at fault responsible for the Mantide's styling, Jason Castriota, the Italian firm could produce as many as 10 units of the Corvette ZR1-based sportscar.
"The project has an anonymous benefactor, but it is in fact for sale either as a singular example, or with the possibility of building an extremely limited series," Castriota told the NY Times in an e-mail message. "At the moment there is considerable interest around the world as we have been contacted by potential clients in Asia, Europe and America," he added.
Despite its relatively humble underpinnings - humble in the sense that a Corvette ZR1 will set you back a 'mere' $104,920 or about €79,000, the Mantide's price will hover close to a staggering $2,000,000 or around €1,500,000. Like it or not, we have no doubt that there's a handful of people out there who will be more than willing to pay such a high price to own a supercar like the Mantide.
Via: NY Times
We've pretty much summed up our feelings about John Castriota's Corvette ZR1-based Bertone Mantide in our previous post here, so we're not going to get into the design discussion again. Just hit the jump to watch to watch the coupe's presentation from the Shanghai Auto Show earlier this month, and don't forget to lower the volume of your speakers because you're probably going to get as annoyed as we did the music background.
Nope, as much as some of our readers may disagree with us, these live photos of the Corvette ZR1-based Bertone Mantide still don't do the trick. We continue to believe that the Mantide's appearance and especially the car's front-end styling, looks like it was the work of some haphazard Chinese automaker and not from a famed design house like Bertone. At some point the vehicle's cat-lipped buttocks could grow on us, but don't expect that to happen any time soon. Read more about the Mantide here.
_______________________________________________________
Pics copyright: UP