Auto Design

The Concorso d’Eleganza di Villa d’Este this years has been as good as the weather. That is to say that half of it was very good, with peaks of excellence, and the remaining half was bad, raining and boring, with touches of ugliness.

 By the end of the elegant week-end on the Lake of Como, one would say it was not one the best edition ever but still offered enough interesting cars to look at, people to greet and talk to, and subjects to discuss.

As such it was one not to be missed. Those who did not attend it missed the extremely rare chance of hearing the sibilo and smelling the pollution of its turbine engine, not to mention seeing this extraordinary visualisation of the dreams about the cars of the future they were dreaming in the fifties and sixties.

  Read the rest of this entry »

One of you has asked me which was your favourite car at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2009?

Now I am in a hurry to catch a flight out of town but I can try to post a quick reply. Difficult question. Here the first answers. Considering this is a Concorso D’Eleganza and not a competition about the most attractive (for overall qualities such as rarety, power, brand, performance, style, etc.) among the classics my first choice would probably be the 1954 Aston Martin DB 2/4 built by Bertone.

Second choice would be the 1952 Lancia Aurelia B52 built by Vignale.

Among the “concept” I would say that none win my points for elegance but if I have to choose one among them as the most interesting I would say the Mindset (with its very elegant interior)

and the Stile Bertone Mantide for its dynamic proportions and style.

I shall come back to this in a week time, though.

 Eventually, the big day for Jason Castiota with Stile Bertone came yesterday. Its Stile Bertone Corvette ZR1 Mantide was presented to a small number of friends, colleagues, suppliers and friends, at the superlative Fiat Group Automobiles proving ground in Balocco just a couple of hours after the latest details were fixed in Caprie. Faithful to the coachbuilder tradition the one-off came late to the meeting, as if that had been orchestrated to further tease those eager to see it and get a first hand impression. Well, my first impression is that the Mantide look fine in pictures and a lot better in reality. Some fussy detail in the back are much less obvious, the roof profile looks very dynamic and express a clear message of high speed, the design is structured and occasionally complex but the main surfaces are perfectly mastered. It is at the front that Castriota’s team has left room for improvement. Obviously organising in a harmonius composition the never-ending surface of the front bonnet is not easy, especially when you want to make a strong impression. The many facets of the front seem to be inspired to a diamond but the outcome is not so brillant. In action, at very reasonable speeds (no problem was the imperative), the silhouette look very exciting and by the end of the day I might end up liking this design better than that of the Pininfarina P4/5 Ferrari Enzo. According to Jason Castriota, the Mantide might be sold to a Chinese enthusiast. The price is now at 1.5 million Euros, but those who are ready to pay some 650,000 euros for one the five units (one per continent?) might get one to their own specifications. Bertone  would love to build if as many orders are placed after the car is presented, tomorrow, at the Concorso d’Eleganza di Villa d’Este.   

Interiors, details, people and more in the photo gallery:  

Mrs. Lilli Bertone is waiting for the slow coming developments of all the procedures that will eventually put the word “end” onto the sad Bertone saga, which see herself and her two daughters arguing on the destiny of the family heritage. In the meantime she is not on idle. She has not time to wate and has recently made a pro-active move by establishing a new company, in association with two well established design and engineering companies: TE.DI and MED. To make clear at the outset about who is in control Lilli Bertone (who has the controlling stake majority) has called the new company BERTONE CENTO.

The name says it all: Cento is Italian for One Hundred and it is precisely the 100^th anniversary of BERTONE that she wants to celebrate and she is focusing on, as point of arrival as well as for the point-in-time for a new departure. Mrs. Bertone is not a teen-ager but she seems to have the enthusiasm, the energy and the determination of a tiger at its best. She has also secured to her new company the talent and experience of Michael “Mike” Robinson, the renowned American-born designer that has made a brilliant career at Fiat and Lancia before going free-lance.

The tall Californian designer has lived in Turin for the past 30 years and has previously held the role of “Director of the Centro Stile Lancia” in the 90s, where he created the concept cars “Dialogos” and “Nea” as well as the Lancia Lybra, Phedra, Thesis, and the latest Ypsilon”. Later, as Director of the Centro Stile Fiat (until 2005) he directed the design development of the Fiat Ducato light commercial vehicle, and the interior of the Fiat Grande Punto.

Mike Robinson will act as “Brand & Design Director”.

Mrs. Bertone has also selected Architect Franco Carretto as head of the Train Design Division of Bertone Cento. The world-renowned train designer was previously the director of the Train Design at Giugiaro Design where he designed trend-setting mass transport vehicles for Chinese, Finnish, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish railways companies, in addition to the Light Underground Train for the Copenhagen Railways.

In announcing her new company, Mrs. Bertone stated: “We are confident that this combined team of creative and technical excellence, including Robinson’s futuristic vision and his great ability to scout talent and motivate teams, Carretto’s long history of success designing train exteriors and interiors, both supported by an experienced team of engineers and industrialists, in perfect harmony with my relentless determination, will empower BERTONE CENTO to return as a one of the world’s driving forces in transportation design and engineering”.

Bertone Cento is an independent company and has no corporate relationship with Stile Bertone, Carrozzeria Bertone, Bertone Glass or the holding Bertone S.p.A. According to a statement issued by the new company, BERTONE CENTO is committed “to bring Bertone design and engineering back into the heart of the worlds’ most important automobile manufacturers, and, on the threshold of a hundred year history reawaken the pride of Italian style and ingenuity”.

Eventually, the day to show what Jason Castriota can deliver when left on his own (and his team) and free to run the show, with all the freedom and confidence that Bertone has traditionally assured to his designers. Nuccio Bertone designed cars with his imagination and confidence in his team. He created fanous designers and I am sure he would have given a chance to Jason. Read the rest of this entry »

Lilli Bertone is not giving up her ambitions to pay homage to Nuccio Bertone and to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Bertone in 2012 as properly as the Bertone heritage and brand deserves. As the multiple legal initiatives and procedures are either being resolved or on due course for the liquidation of Carrozzeria Bertone Spa and its affiliates, Mrs. Lilli Bertone has outlined a more realistic and pragmatic strategy for the years to come.

Rather than giving up, she is doubling the tables onto which she is going to play in the next years by establishing a new company called BERTONE CENTO. Details on this new business are provided in the following report.

On one side, Mrs. Bertone has reportedly given up her initial commitment to rescue the Carrozzeria Bertone contract manufacturing business or produce cars of its own (banking on a reportedly revolutionary air-engine, among other plans). The recent decline of the car business world-wide has made clear that these are not the times to invest into small-volume manufacturing. This also means that it will up to other investors (either large car manufacturers or real-estate investors) to take over the Carrozzeria Bertone plant and equipment (including a state of the art painting shop) and either launch production of new cars or sell the equipment and turn the factory into a major real estate business. Perhaps both: first launch production of new vehicles, as Mr. Maurizio Reviglio is proposing, and later on convert the area in a rich real-estate development. Mr. Reviglio is still watching the developments and willing to confirm his initial agreement and commitments with Carrozzeria Bertone, with a business plan that has become more consistent in the meantime. Reviglio’s companies, Keplero and Comecar, are developing a range of electric light commercial vehicles that might be ready for sale sometime next year. Mr. Reviglio said his car business plan is going ahead independently of the Carrozzeria Bertone acquisition. “Whether or not we acquire Carrozzeria Bertone we will have no problem to produce our new vehicles here in the Turin area, where we have many shops to acquire or work with”, told us Reviglio.

Reviglio, who has significant investments in real-estate is well aware of the worth of Carrozzeria Bertone facilities and it is legitimate to assume that he is also thinking of the opportunities to be taken in five years or so. The real-estate future is indeed the most likely development for the 310,000 sq.m. area covered by the Carrozzeria Bertone factory. The assets of Bertone Spa and its associated companies are likely to be sold on auction possibly next month, in Torino, as soon as the commissioners are ready to moved ahead (they seems to be the only ones who are not in a hurry).

On the other side Mrs. Bertone is waiting to re-gain control of Stile Bertone, the design arm of the Bertone family which in the past two years has been administered by a management appointed by the court, while Mr. Bertone widow and his two heirs, Barbara and Marie-Jeanne Bertone, were resolving and intricate dispute about who actually had the controlling stake of the independent company dedicated to car design, modelling and prototyping. A recent decision of the court has reportedly ruled in favour of Mrs. Bertone and – according to well placed sources – Barbara Bertone has agreed to sell her stake into Stile Bertone to her mother. These two moves grant a major controlling stake in Stile Bertone and now it is only a matter of time and procedure for Mrs. Bertone to take undisputed control of the company she is not involved with, at this time.

In the meantime Mrs. Bertone has signed a contract also with Michael Robinson, for her all-new company called BERTONE CENTO. The new company has just been established in partnership with a solid group of design and engineering companies active in “transportation design” (everything but cars and trucks) and Michael Robinson is running it as Design and Brand Manager. (more in following report).

Far from Turin and Italy, someone else realized how favourable the Chevrolet Corvette chassis and performance package is good. That is the South African carmaker Perana Performance Group that made its first international appearance at the Geneva Motor Show on the Zagato exhibit. There, the world famous Italian designer presented their all-new Perana Z-One (read Piranha Zee-One) designed for the South African company in view of a “limited production” of 999 units per year and with a very strict selling price target, suggested at € 50,000 before taxes.

Here we are not talking of the top version with compressor and 620 HP but of the 6.2 litre V8 engine credited of 440 HP (328 kW) in its setting for Euro 4 emission standards.

The design had to meet the technical requirements of the planned production technology based on fibreglass bodywork, just as the original Chevrolet Corvette.

This high performance two-seater coupé marries a traditional steel-frame chassis, with front engine and rear wheel drive, with the sensual, fluid and yet powerful surfaces tailored to express a sense of commitment to high speed, designed by the talented Nori Harada in the typical Zagato style.

The proportions and volume of Z-One are even tighter, accentuated by a couple of long and dynamic curves with sharp edges which visually integrate strong design features such as the engine bay air outlets on both sides. Surfaces defined by those cutting edges are even more sculptured maintaining the modern Zagato style developed through the past decade.

Whereas the power is a little more than two-thirds of the Spada and Stile Bertone Corvettes, the performance and driving pleasure are only 15% inferior but the selling price is a fifth of the Codatronca and I am very curious to learn the selling price of the Mantide to check out at which fraction the Perana Z-One will sell for.

All right, the Perana Z-One is much less sophisticated and precious as a car but when it comes to design the emotion-for-price rating is easy to evaluate.

It is unfair to compare now the Codatronca with the Perana Z-One. The quality of their pictures is so different. This should be fixed shortly after the Concorso D’Eleganza when I expect to be able to photograph the Perana Z-One in daylight. In the meantime, I can offer you these images shot at the Geneva Motor Show last month.

Zagato is celebrating its 90^th anniversary, under the leadership of founder grandson Andrea Zagato.

It might appear to be ironic, and perhaps it is. At the time when American giant General Motors is on the verge of bankruptcy and of embracing the Chapter 11 procedure in effort to be born again from its ashes, it hyper performance sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is becoming the most popular platform for bespoke and very unique Supercars. Read the rest of this entry »

Here eventually an image that reflects a bit of the latest Supercar designed by Jason Castriota for Stile Bertone. The ultimate fuoriserie from the famous Italian coachbuilder is called Mantide and will make its first public appearance at the famous “Balocco” Fiat Group Automobile’ proving ground. I think the car is going to look gorgeous, its sound will be intimidating and the speed really high, if the goads of cutting 250 pounds (some 115 kg) off the original weight and the low aerodynamics Cx have actually been achieved.

Having reached a certain age I recently suspected I am getting old, without realising it or, even worst, with no intimate will to concede it. Now I know I am old.

This morning I received from Bradley R. Farell an e-mail message saying “Hi, Jason wanted me to send you a exclusive photo. Photo credit to: www.pdj-photo.com“. The photo is this one that I am glad to offer you, as a unique exclusive preview, teaser, or what else you like to call it, of the Project M.

Coming from New York, this must clearly be the latest and most advanced “communication technique” and if you do not understand why this gentleman Farrell is approaching me in such a sharp and to-the-point style even though I have not had the privilege of having been introduced to him, it must certainly be because I am getting old, out of touch and far from the new trend.

I hope that you, my readers, will concede me that at least I am making an effort to reduce the lag and remain in touch with the modern reality and the futuristic trends. Whereas most of my colleague journalist would consider the “exclusive” image an April’s Fool joke sent 12 days to late and forget about it in an instant, I choose to offer you every bit of information you may like to see.

Just do me a favour, if you will: tell me that I was right in bringing this to you, rather than just ignore it, as my old-style school of journalism and communication had suggested as an instinctive reaction.

P.S. – Just between you and me: I would have much preferred to bring to you a colour rendering in the old times style.