The Bertone Pirana (or Jaguar Pirana) is a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

created by

Bertone Bertone is an Italian surname meaning "descendant of Roberto". Notable people with the surname include: * Alicia Bertone, American academic, researcher, and veterinary surgeon * Catherine Bertone (born 1972), Turkish-born female Italian marathon r ...

for the 1967 London Motor Show at Earl's Court. The sleek GT car was based on the

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

and powertrain of the 4.2 litre

Jaguar E-type The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars Ltd between 1961 and 1974. Its combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the m ...

, with a unique steel semi- monocoque body and luxurious interior. It was officially named "Pirana," not "Piranha" as some sources describe, although the badge on the rear of the car reads Piranha. This spelling was reportedly an aesthetic choice. The Pirana was designed by Marcello Gandini, perhaps best known for styling the

Lamborghini Countach The Lamborghini Countach () is a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini from 1974 until 1990. It is one of the many exotic designs developed by Italian design house Bertone, wh ...

. Unusually for a show car, the Pirana was commissioned by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', a leading British daily newspaper, as an example of an "ideal car."

Sir William Lyons Sir William Lyons"Sir William Lyons – The Official Biography" by Philip Porter & Paul Skilleter, Haynes Publishing (4 September 1901 – 8 February 1985), known as "Mr. Jaguar", was with fellow motorcycle enthusiast William Walmsley, the co ...

was contacted beforehand about the project and agreed to sell Bertone the Jaguar engine and chassis. The car was originally registered "TGF 1F". After a successful showing at the London Motor show, the Pirana was subsequently exhibited at the New York car show and then at the British Motor Show in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. The car was later converted to a 2+2 seater arrangement and the transmission changed from manual to automatic. The space for the plus 2 seats being made by moving the air conditioning unit to the rear luggage space. The Pirana, along with the Lamborghini Marzal, influenced Gandini's design of the

Lamborghini Espada The Lamborghini Espada is a 4-seat grand touring coupé built by Italian car manufacturer Lamborghini between 1968 and 1978. History The car was designed by Marcello Gandini at Bertone. Gandini drew inspiration and cues from two of his Bertone ...

. The Espada was introduced in 1968, one year after the Pirana. The wooden body buck built for the Pirana was used in the construction of an early Espada prototype.

References

External links

Bertone Pirana at uniquecarsandparts.com.auXKEData entry for the PiranaCurrent owner website
{{Jaguar modern timeline

Pirana A piranha or piraña (, , or ; or , ) is one of a number of freshwater fish in the family Serrasalmidae, or the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae in order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, ...

Jaguar concept vehicles