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 ...

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, 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 The Turin Motor Show ( it, Salone dell'Automobile di Torino) was an auto show held annually in Turin, Italy. The first official show took place between 21 and 24 April 1900, at the Castle of Valentino, becoming a permanent fixture in Turin from 1 ...

. He drew attention at the

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that year with an

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

concept, and was chosen to design the replacement for the

Alfa Romeo Disco Volante The Alfa Romeo 1900 C52 "Disco Volante", commonly known simply as Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (Italian for "Flying Saucer"), is a series of experimental sports racing cars produced between 1952 and 1953 by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo in col ...

. 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 ...

(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

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chassis alongside his latest BAT concept and a prototype of the

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

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s, Simca 1200S coupes, the Alfa Romeo Montreal, and

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s. His 100th design was a special

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, introduced at the 1965

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and commissioned by Automobile Quarterly. 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 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 interna ...

: :"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 The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum. It was founded in 1939 and has over 800 worldwide honorees. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area. the Automotive Hall of Fame includes persons who have contributed greatly to a ...

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