Bertone
Italian automotive design, coachbuilding, and limited-production vehicle brand.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Bertone is an Italian automotive design and coachbuilding name whose history spans more than a century. Founded in Turin in 1912 by Giovanni Bertone as a maker of horse-drawn carriages, the business gradually moved into automotive bodywork and became one of Italy’s best-known carrozzerie. Its work combined exterior styling, engineering adaptation, prototype construction, low-volume manufacturing, and, at various points, the production of complete vehicles. The company’s early growth came through bodywork for Italian manufacturers and chassis suppliers. During the 1920s and 1930s, Bertone produced bodies for marques including Fiat, Lancia, Itala, Diatto, SPA, and others. Giovanni Bertone’s son Giuseppe, widely known as Nuccio Bertone, joined the company in the 1930s and became the central figure in its postwar expansion. Under Nuccio’s leadership, the business developed a structure in which Carrozzeria Bertone handled manufacturing while Stile Bertone focused on styling and design services. After the Second World War, Bertone became a major force in the revival of Italian sports-car and specialty-car design. It worked with manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Fiat, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ferrari, Volvo, Citroën, BMW, General Motors, and others. Its portfolio included production cars, concept cars, racing prototypes, luxury coupés, convertibles, and experimental vehicles. The firm also provided design services outside passenger cars, including motorcycle projects and broader industrial-design work. Bertone’s most influential period was from the 1950s through the 1970s. The company designed or manufactured vehicles such as the Abarth 750 Record, Fiat 850 Spider, Lamborghini Miura, Lamborghini Espada, Fiat X1/9, Alfa Romeo Montreal, Volvo 262C, and numerous concept cars. Designers associated with the company included Franco Scaglione, Giorgetto Giugiaro, Marcello Gandini, Marc Deschamps, and other prominent Italian stylists. The Bertone name became associated with sharply geometric forms, technical experimentation, compact sports cars, and the integration of design and production. The company expanded substantially in the 1960s and 1970s. Production of the Fiat 850 Spider helped increase industrial scale, while the Grugliasco facility became a major manufacturing site. Bertone later produced vehicles for third parties and entered additional contracts for convertibles, coupés, and specialty models. It also created landmark concept cars such as the Alfa Romeo Canguro, Chevrolet Testudo, Alfa Romeo Carabo, and the Zero Emission Record electric prototype. By the 2000s, however, the traditional low-volume coachbuilder model faced intense competitive and financial pressure. Falling production volumes, changes in manufacturer sourcing, and the cost of maintaining manufacturing capacity weakened the business. In 2009, the Grugliasco plant and manufacturing operations were sold to Fiat, followed by a restructuring that left a much smaller engineering and design workforce. The company sold concept cars and explored licensing and partnership arrangements as its financial difficulties continued. Gruppo Bertone entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2014. Its former employees, assets, design activities, and intellectual-property rights subsequently became associated with several successor or license-holding entities. Bertone Design continued in Milan with an emphasis on industrial design and architecture before being sold to AKKA Technologies in 2016. The brand was later connected with Flymove Holding in the electric-vehicle field and was ultimately acquired by entities controlled by Mauro and Jean-Franck Ricci. The Ricci brothers revived the automotive brand in the 2020s. The revived Bertone presented the limited-edition GB110 in December 2022 and publicly unveiled it at Top Marques Monaco in June 2024. The modern brand focuses on exclusive, low-volume performance vehicles rather than the mass-production manufacturing model of the historic Grugliasco operation. Bertone therefore represents both a historic Italian carrozzeria and a revived luxury automotive label built around design heritage, exclusivity, and technically ambitious specialty cars.
History
Giovanni Bertone established a carriage-making workshop in Turin in 1912. The business initially built horse-drawn vehicles, but the expansion of motor transport soon led it toward automotive bodywork. After reopening following the disruption of the First World War, Bertone secured commissions for bodies mounted on SPA, Fiat, Lancia, Itala, Diatto, and other Italian chassis. The firm produced both practical saloons and sporting bodies, including work associated with the Fiat 501 Sport Siluro Corsa, Fiat 505, Itala 51S, Lancia Lambda, and Lancia Artena. Giovanni’s son Giuseppe, known as Nuccio Bertone, began working in the company in the 1930s. During the Second World War the business adapted to wartime conditions, producing military-related vehicles and special bodies. After the war, Nuccio led the company toward a more ambitious role in the Italian automotive industry. Bertone developed a reputation for combining the craft of the carrozzeria with increasingly industrialized production and professional styling services. The company’s postwar portfolio included the Abarth 750 Record, which established multiple speed and endurance records, and the NSU Sport Prinz, which helped demonstrate Bertone’s ability to undertake series production. A new plant at Grugliasco became operational in 1959. During the same period Bertone worked on important sports and luxury projects for Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Maserati, Ferrari, and other manufacturers. The firm also became a platform for leading designers, including Franco Scaglione and Giorgetto Giugiaro. Bertone expanded dramatically during the 1960s. The Fiat 850 Spider, introduced in 1965, became a particularly important commercial success and was manufactured in large numbers for an Italian coachbuilder. The company also created the Lamborghini Miura, Marzal, Espada, Jarama, and Urraco, helping define the visual language of Lamborghini’s early range. Other notable designs included the Iso Rivolta GT and Grifo, Chevrolet Testudo, Alfa Romeo Canguro, Alfa Romeo Giulia GT, Alfa Romeo Montreal, Fiat Dino Coupé, and the sharply angular Alfa Romeo Carabo concept. At its peak around 1970, Bertone employed approximately 1,500 people and operated a very large Grugliasco facility. The company continued to combine design and manufacturing, producing or developing vehicles for Fiat, Volvo, Lamborghini, Citroën, General Motors Europe, and others. The Fiat X1/9 became one of the best-known Bertone-branded production cars and remained in production from 1972 to 1988. Bertone also produced the Volvo 262C, Fiat and Opel convertibles, and various specialty derivatives. Marcello Gandini was especially influential during this period, designing the Citroën BX and numerous concept and production vehicles. The company continued to diversify through the 1980s and 1990s. Its work included the Fiat Ritmo Cabrio, Opel Kadett Cabrio, Opel Astra Cabrio, Fiat Punto Cabrio, and experimental projects such as the Zero Emission Record. Bertone received ISO 9001 quality certification in the 1990s. Its industrial activities also extended into motorcycles, including design work for the Lambretta Luna family and Lambretta GP/DL. The economics of coachbuilding became more difficult in the 2000s as automobile manufacturers consolidated design and production internally or shifted work among larger suppliers. Bertone’s financial position deteriorated, and in 2009 Fiat acquired the Grugliasco plant and manufacturing operations. The remaining organization was substantially smaller and focused mainly on engineering and design. Further financial pressure led to the sale of some concept cars and attempts to find new investors or strategic partners. Bertone entered bankruptcy in 2014. The historic operating company’s collapse separated the brand name, design activities, museum collection, and industrial assets. Cars from the company museum were distributed to institutions including Automotoclub Storico Italiano and Volandia. Bertone Design, a Milan-based successor associated with former employees, concentrated more on industrial design and architecture. It was sold to AKKA Technologies in 2016, while subsequent licensing and ownership arrangements connected the name with electric-vehicle projects and Flymove Holding. The brand later came under the control of Mauro and Jean-Franck Ricci. They revived Bertone as an exclusive automotive label in 2022, presenting the GB110 as a limited-production performance car. The model was publicly shown at Top Marques Monaco in 2024. The revived business differs from the historic Bertone industrial group: it is centered on brand heritage, design-led specialty vehicles, and limited production rather than a large-scale manufacturing plant. Bertone’s historical significance nevertheless rests on the breadth of its design work, its role in Italian coachbuilding, and its contribution to the development of modern sports-car styling.
- 2024
GB110 publicly unveiled
[1]The GB110 was publicly unveiled at Top Marques Monaco.
- 2022
Bertone automotive brand revived
[1]Mauro and Jean-Franck Ricci revived the brand and presented the GB110 limited-edition vehicle.
- 2016
AKKA Technologies acquires the brand
[1]AKKA Technologies acquired Bertone brand rights while Bertone Design retained separate rights and activities in some fields.
- 2014
Historic Bertone company enters bankruptcy
[1]The operating company confirmed that it would be declared bankrupt after failing to find an appropriate buyer.
- 2009
Grugliasco operations sold to Fiat
[1]Bertone sold its principal plant and manufacturing activities to Fiat as part of a major restructuring.
- 1994
Zero Emission Record presented
[1]Bertone presented the Zero Emission Record, an experimental electric vehicle project, and received ISO 9001 quality certification.
- 1986
General Motors Europe production agreement
[1]A new agreement transferred production of the Kadett Cabrio to Bertone.
- 1972
Fiat X1/9 introduced
[1]The mid-engined Fiat X1/9 entered production and later became one of the best-known cars sold under the Bertone name.
- 1966
Lamborghini partnership expands
[1]Bertone’s collaboration with Lamborghini produced a sequence of influential sports and grand-touring cars, beginning with the Miura.
- 1965
Fiat 850 Spider launches
[1]The Fiat 850 Spider became a major commercial success and helped Bertone increase production volume substantially.
Products and positioning
A historically important Italian design house and coachbuilder positioned around expressive automotive styling, prototype development, specialist manufacturing, and exclusive limited-edition performance vehicles.
Production sports car · 1965
Fiat 850 Spider
The Fiat 850 Spider was one of Bertone’s most commercially important production programs. Introduced in 1965, it combined a compact Fiat mechanical package with a Bertone-designed open two-seat body. Its success allowed the company to increase output significantly, and nearly 140,000 examples were produced between 1965 and 1972, with a large proportion exported to the United States. The model demonstrated that Bertone could move beyond one-off coachbuilding into efficient series production while retaining a distinctive Italian design identity.
Production sports car · 1966
Lamborghini Miura
The Lamborghini Miura was created through Bertone’s collaboration with Lamborghini and became a defining mid-engined supercar of the 1960s. Bertone’s styling helped present the car’s transverse mid-engine architecture in an exceptionally low and dramatic form. The Miura established a long-running relationship between the two companies and helped make Bertone one of the most influential designers of high-performance Italian automobiles.
Production grand tourer · 1968
Lamborghini Espada
The Lamborghini Espada extended Bertone’s Lamborghini work into a four-seat grand-touring format. Its long, low body and glass-rich rear treatment combined high-performance mechanicals with greater passenger and luggage capacity than the Miura. The Espada was important to Lamborghini’s early range and illustrated Bertone’s ability to interpret the same brand in both extreme sports cars and more practical long-distance vehicles.
Mid-engined sports car · 1972
Fiat X1/9
The Fiat X1/9 was a compact mid-engined sports car developed from a Fiat platform and styled by Bertone. Production began in 1972 and continued until 1988. The car was later marketed directly under the Bertone name, making it one of the clearest examples of the company functioning simultaneously as designer, manufacturer, and automotive brand. Its wedge-shaped profile and accessible layout gave it a broad international following.
Concept car · 1968
Alfa Romeo Carabo
The Alfa Romeo Carabo was a Bertone concept based on the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale chassis and presented in 1968. Designed during Marcello Gandini’s influential period, it used sharp geometric surfaces, contrasting colors, and innovative access features to explore a new visual language for high-performance cars. Although it was not a series-production model, the Carabo became one of Bertone’s most recognizable design statements and influenced later wedge-shaped sports-car styling.
Luxury coupé · 1977
Volvo 262C
The Volvo 262C was a low-volume luxury coupé developed through Bertone’s design and production capabilities. Based on Volvo’s 200-series architecture, it combined a formal two-door body with a lowered roofline and a more luxurious interior. The program showed Bertone’s ability to adapt a manufacturer’s established platform into a distinctive specialist vehicle and broadened the company’s work beyond Italian marques.
Limited-edition performance car · 2022
Bertone GB110
The GB110 is the first major vehicle associated with the modern revival of the Bertone automotive brand under Mauro and Jean-Franck Ricci. Presented in December 2022 and publicly unveiled in 2024, it is positioned as a highly exclusive, limited-production performance vehicle. The project uses Bertone’s historic design identity as a foundation while shifting the company away from mass manufacturing toward bespoke and collectible automobiles.
Brand decisions
2022
Revive Bertone as a limited-production automotive brandProduct launchBackground
After several ownership and licensing transitions, Mauro and Jean-Franck Ricci sought to re-establish Bertone as an active automotive marque.
Action taken
The Ricci brothers revived the brand and presented the GB110 as the first vehicle in a planned series of limited-edition automobiles.
Aftermath
Bertone returned to the performance-car market with a design-led, low-volume business model rather than the large Turin-area manufacturing operation of the historic group.
2016
Brand acquired by AKKA TechnologiesM&ABackground
Following the collapse of the historic company, the Bertone name and related rights were available for acquisition and licensing.
Action taken
AKKA Technologies acquired the Bertone brand for more than €2.6 million and connected it with its engineering and automotive design activities.
Aftermath
Brand-use rights remained divided in some fields, and later licensing arrangements connected Bertone with electric-vehicle initiatives.
Acquisition price. More than €2.6 million (2016)
2014
Historic operating company enters bankruptcyOtherBackground
After prolonged financial difficulties and unsuccessful efforts to find a buyer, Bertone faced the loss of its remaining operating structure.
Action taken
The company confirmed that it would be declared bankrupt when a suitable buyer could not be secured.
Aftermath
Most employees lost their jobs, and the company’s industrial assets, museum vehicles, design operations, and brand rights became separated among successor organizations and later owners.
2009
Sell the Grugliasco plant and restructure the businessStrategyBackground
Bertone’s traditional manufacturing model was under financial pressure, and the company’s production activities were no longer sustainable at their previous scale.
Action taken
The Grugliasco facility and manufacturing operations were sold to Fiat. Bertone reduced its workforce and concentrated more heavily on engineering and design.
Aftermath
The restructuring did not restore long-term financial stability. The historic operating company subsequently entered bankruptcy proceedings.
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