The Abarth 1500 Biposto was an experimental coupé designed by

Franco Scaglione __NOTOC__ Franco Scaglione (26 September 1916 – 19 June 1993) was an Italian automobile coachwork designer. Biography Franco Scaglione was born in Florence to Vittorio Scaglione, a chief army doctor, and to Giovanna Fabbri, captain of the ...

, who worked for

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 was also a Automotive industry in ...

at the time. It was displayed at the 1952 Turin Motor Show. Following the Turin Show, it was purchased by

Packard Packard (formerly the Packard Motor Car Company) was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana, in 1958. One ...

and brought to Detroit, where it was used for design inspiration. 1952 Abarth 1500 Biposto BAT 1 - Flickr - edvvc

The Biposto was given to motoring journalist Dick Smith in mid-1953 as his prize for suggesting a new Packard advertising slogan. Smith sparingly drove the car for two decades, before putting it into storage. It did not reappear until put up for auction in 2003 where it was acquired by historic racer, car collector and restorer Chris M. Drake. It features a futuristic design consisting of a central headlight, similar to the earlier Tucker Torpedo, and fins in the rear. The design is believed to have paved the way for the

Alfa Romeo BAT The Alfa Romeo BAT (or Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica) are a series of Italian concept cars. The cars originated from a joint collaboration project between Alfa Romeo and the Italian design house Gruppo Bertone, Bertone that began in 1953. Three ca ...

series of concept cars. Unveiled after a 7-year restoration by Chris M. Drake, It won the prestigious Gran Turismo Trophy at the 2010

Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an annual automotive event held on the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. It is widely considered the most prestigious car show in the world and it is the pinnacle ''Concours d'Elegance'' c ...

and is featured in ''

Gran Turismo 6 ''Gran Turismo 6'' is a 2013 sim racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sixth main installment and the eleventh overall in the ''Gran Turismo (series), Gran ...

'', ''

Gran Turismo Sport ''Gran Turismo Sport'' is a 2017 sim racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. It is the twelfth game in the ''Gran Turismo (series), Gran Turismo'' series. One of ''G ...

'' and ''

Gran Turismo 7 ''Gran Turismo 7'' is a 2022 sim racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game is the eighth main installment and the thirteenth overall in the '' Gran Turismo'' series. It was relea ...

''. The car also won Best in Class at the prestigious Amelia Island Concours in March 2011 and also was shown at the Goodwood Cartier "Style Et Luxe" later that year.

References

1500 Year 1500 ( MD) was a leap year starting on Wednesday in the Julian calendar. The year 1500 was not a leap year in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. The year 1500 was the last year of the 15th century and the first year of the 16th century. ...