"These are some of our favourite works from the noble House of Bertone, the designs are as prolific and eclectic as the talents of their creator. Abarth 131 Rally. Of the four marques that dominated Rally in the mid 1970s Bertone "
Abarth/Bertone Collaborations
With people like Marcello Gandini and Giugiaro manning the studios, Bertone was arguably the definitive coach builder in that incredibly creative period between 1965-75.
While the great era of futurist Supercars like the Miura and the Countach owes everything to the inner workings of Bertone at that time, the company made some significant innovations as far back as the early 1950s.
Collaborations with Abarth are some of the most interesting.
One look at the Abarth 1500 Biposto (top), which was penned by Franco Scaglione while a junior designer at Bertone, can confirm its influence on the BAT concepts for Alfa – and the subsequent swathe of futurist Americana that emanated from Detroit for the rest of the decade.
But you can see from the outrageous aero slickness in the Fiat 500 – based record-attempt car that there was more to the house of Bertone than scalloped wheel arches, chrome fins and nonfunctional flourishes.
And what about the seldom seen 750 (above) from 1956? How about this for a sort of Batman-like take on the Sunbeam Alpine?
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Always been a big Abarth fan. Had trouble insuring my old 500 Abarth – you guys came through in the end…