Giuseppe Bertone, also called "Nuccio", (4 July 1914, in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

– 26 February 1997, in Turin) was an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

designer and constructor. He took over

Carrozzeria Bertone Gruppo Bertone, commonly known as Bertone, was an Italian industrial design company which specialized in Automotive design, car styling, coachbuilder, coachbuilding and Contract manufacturer, manufacturing. It formerly was also a Automotive indus ...

from his father,

Giovanni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, growing the small business to a car building and designing powerhouse. After racing

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

O.S.C.A. O.S.C.A. (Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili—Fratelli Maserati S.p.A.) was an Italian manufacturer of racing and sports cars established 1947 in San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, by the Maserati brothers, and closed down in 1967. The ...

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

, and

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

, Bertone moved to construction, agreeing to build his first car, a series of 200 MGs, at the 1952 Turin Motor Show. He drew attention at the Paris Motor Show that year with an

Abarth Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a shield with a styliz ...

concept, and was chosen to design the replacement for the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante. These so-called

BAT Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

(Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica) cars used the Alfa Romeo 1900 Sprint chassis. Bertone is also responsible for designing the famous Lambretta GP/DL range of scooters and the Luna line of scooters. Two years later at Turin, Bertone introduced the Storm Z concept based on a

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

chassis alongside his latest BAT concept and a prototype of the

Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint The Alfa Romeo Giulietta (''Tipo 750'' and ''Tipo 101'', meaning "Type 750" and "Type 101") is a family of automobiles made by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1954 until 1965 which included a 2+2 coupé, four-door saloon, estate, spide ...

, which would become the company's main product for the coming years. Bertone built more than 31,000 bodies in 1960, including

Fiat 850 Spider The Fiat 850 (''Tipo 100G'') is a small rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive car manufactured and marketed by Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1964 to 1973. History Overview Its technical design was an evolution of the successful Fiat 600. The inter ...

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Simca 1200S Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simca boug ...

coupes, the

Alfa Romeo Montreal The Alfa Romeo Montreal is a 2+2 coupé sports car produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1970 to 1977. Concept car The Alfa Romeo Montreal was introduced as a concept car in 1967 at Expo 67, held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Ori ...

, and

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

s. His 100th design was a special

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...

, introduced at the 1965 New York Auto Show and commissioned by

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. From 1972 to 1989 built the

Fiat X1/9 The Fiat X1/9 is a two-seater mid-engined sports car designed by Bertone and manufactured by Fiat from 1972–1982 and subsequently by Gruppo Bertone from 1982–1989. With a transverse engine and gearbox in a mid-mounted, rear-wheel drive conf ...

. Bertone summed up his philosophy when introducing the Fiat 850: :"Our role is the production of car bodywork on which we impose the styling trends, build prototypes, develop the design, the production methods, and the tooling. Naturally, we produce them in quantity." Bertone's

designs were a radical departure for that company and drew the ire of rival

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian mu ...

. His two 250GT coupes were only a foreshadow to the controversial 308GT4 of the 1970s. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2006. and the European Automotive Hall of Fame. He was married to Lilli and had two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertone, Nuccio 1914 births 1997 deaths B Automotive engineers from Turin Italian automobile designers Alfa Romeo people Ferrari people