Gruppo Bertone


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.
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

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 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.

1960s – 1990s

came up with five variations of five GT models: the Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint, in coupé and cabriolet versions; two Ferrari 250 GTs, one named 'Wax' after the commissioning client; and the others for his personal use, the Aston Martin DB4 GT 'Jet' and the Maserati 5000 GT. At the same time, two new industrial partnerships were worked on with the Simca 1000 Coupé and the BMW 3200 CS limited series. The ASA 1000 GT, better known as the "Ferrarina", or "little Ferrari", was a commercial failure upon its release. 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.
At the end of the 1960s, they formed a partnership with Ferruccio Lamborghini. The first vehicle to come out of this was the Lamborghini Miura. The Miura was followed by the Marzal in 1967 and the Espada in 1968. In the same period, two other coupés appeared: the Alfa Romeo Montreal and the Fiat Dino Coupé, both out in 1967. At the Paris Motor Show of 1968, Bertone presented the Carabo concept car, based on an Alfa 33 chassis. By 1970, Bertone had a workforce of 1,500 staff, and the Grugliasco factory covered an area of. The partnership with Lamborghini led to the development of the Lamborghini Espada. The design was inspired by the Jaguar Pirana. After his initial success with the Espada, he went on to design the Lamborghini Jarama and the Lamborghini Urraco.
In 1972, Giovanni Bertone died. In that year, as a tribute to the company's founder, the Maserati Khamsin and the Fiat X1/9 were released. Based on the Fiat 128 chassis but with a mid-rear-engine layout, the X1/9 was in production from 1972 to 1988, with 160,000 units manufactured. The company also began working for Volvo on the 264 TE. The Volvo 262C was presented at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show. From the start of the 1980s, the Fiat Ritmo Cabrio and the Fiat X1/9 were produced and sold directly under the Bertone brand. In 1982, Marcello Gandini turned out the Citroën BX. A new commercial agreement drawn up with General Motors Europe in 1986 saw the production of the Kadett Cabrio handed over to Bertone. In 1993, the Opel Astra Cabrio and the Fiat Punto Cabrio began production. Next year, Bertone presented the Zero Emission Record ; Gruppo Bertone was also awarded the ISO 9001 quality certification.

2000s – present

By 2009, a worsening financial situation caused Bertone to sell its Grugliasco plant, along with its manufacturing activities, to FIAT. 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, confirmed that it would be declared bankrupt if a suitable buyer was not found by the end of April.
In May 2013, the license rights to the brand were granted by Bertone Cento to Bertone Design. 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 and which use the battery swap system.
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.

Design and production activity

Passenger car designs

ModelYearImage
Abarth 1500 Biposto1952
Abarth OT 1000 Spider1965
Alfa Romeo 2000 Sportiva1954
Alfa Romeo BAT 112008
Alfa Romeo BAT 51953
Alfa Romeo BAT 71954
Alfa Romeo BAT 91955
Alfa Romeo Bella1999
Alfa Romeo Canguro1964
Alfa Romeo Carabo1968
Alfa Romeo Delfino1983
Alfa Romeo Montreal1967
Alfa Romeo Navajo1976
Alfa Romeo Pandion2010
Alfa Romeo Sportut1997
Aston Martin DB4 GT Jet1961
Aston Martin Rapide Jet 2+22013
Aston Martin Vanquish Jet 22004
Autobianchi A112 Runabout1969
Bertone Birusa2003
Bertone Blitz1992
Bertone Dianchè BSS GT One2018
Bertone Cadillac Villa2005
Bertone Fiat Barchetta2007
Bertone GT One2018
Bertone Mantide2009
Bertone Nuccio2012
Bertone Porsche Karisma1994
Bertone Porsche 9111992
Bertone Porsche 911 2.0 Roadster1966
Bertone Porsche Boxster1992
Bertone Pickster1998
Bertone Slim2000
Bertone Suagnà2006
Bertone BMW Spicup1969
Bertone BMW Garmisch1970
Bertone BMW Younique2006
Chevrolet Testudo1963
Chevrolet Nivola1990
Chevrolet Ramarro1984
Citroën GS Camargue1972
Citroën Zabrus1986
Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Speciale1959
Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Speciale1962
Ferrari Rainbow1976
Fiat 125 Executive1967
Fiat 127 Village1974
Fiat 128 Coupé1969
Fiat Cinquecento Rush1992
Fiat Punto Racer1994
Fiat Bravo Enduro1996
Ford Mustang Bertone1965
Innocenti 186 GT1964
Jaguar Ascot1977
Jaguar B992011
Jaguar FT Coupé1966
Jaguar Pirana1967
Lamborghini Athon1980
Lamborghini Bravo1974
Lamborghini Genesis1988
Lamborghini Marzal1967
Lancia Kayak1994
Lancia Sibilo1978
Lancia Stratos Zero1970
Lancia Stratos HF prototype1971
Lotus Emotion1991
Maserati 5000 GT Bertone1961
Mazda MX-811981
NSU Trapeze1973
Opel Filo2001
Opel Slalom1996
Saab Novanta2002
Suzuki Go1972
Volvo Tundra1979

ModelYearImage
Abarth 1000 GT Coupé1958
Alfa Romeo 1900 Sport Spider1954
Alfa Romeo 2000/2600 Sprint1960
Alfa Romeo 901984
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT Veloce1967
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint1954
Alfa Romeo Giulietta/Giulia Sprint Speciale1960
Alfa Romeo GT2003
Alfa Romeo Montreal1970
Arnolt-Aston Martin DB2/4 Spider1954
Arnolt-Bristol1955
Arnolt-MG1953
ASA 1000 GT1962
Bertone Freeclimber1989
Bertone GB1102023
BMW 3200 CS1962
Changhe Ideal2003
Chery A12008
Chevrolet Niva 2009
Citroën BX1982
Citroën Xantia1993
Citroën XM1989
Citroën ZX1991
Daewoo Espero1990
Ferrari 208/308 GT41974
Fiat 1100 TV1953
Fiat 131 Abarth1976
Fiat 850 Spider1965
Fiat 8V Spider1953
Fiat Dino1967
Fiat X1/91972
Fiat Ritmo Cabrio1978
Fiat Panda2003
Innocenti Mini1974
Iso Grifo1965
Iso Lele1969
Iso Rivolta IR1962
Lamborghini Countach1971
Lamborghini Espada1968
Lamborghini Jalpa1981
Lamborghini Jarama1970
Lamborghini Miura1967
Lamborghini Silhouette1976
Lamborghini Urraco1970
Lancia Stratos HF1972
Gordon-Keeble1960
Maserati Khamsin1972
Maserati Quattroporte II1974
Mazda Luce1965
Mercedes-Benz W126 Limousine1981
NSU Spider1960
NSU Sport Prinz1959
Opel Astra F Cabrio1994
Opel Astra G Cabrio2001
Opel Astra G Coupé2001
Opel Kadett E Cabrio1987
Riich G52009
Simca 1000 Coupé1962
Simca 1200 S Coupé1967
Škoda Favorit1987
Stanguellini 1100 Berlinetta1953
Volvo 7801985