The Bertone Pirana (or Jaguar Pirana) is a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...

created by

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 ...

for the 1967

London Motor Show London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thame ...

Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

. The sleek GT car was based on the

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

and

powertrain In a motor vehicle, the powertrain comprises the main components that generate engine power, power and deliver that power to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the internal combustion engine, engine, transmission (mechanics), trans ...

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 FMR layout, front mid-engined sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars, Jaguar Cars Ltd from 1961 to 1974. Its sleek appearance, advanced technologies, ...

, with a unique steel semi-

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

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 Marcello Gandini (26 August 1938 – 13 March 2024) was an Italian Automotive design, car designer widely known for his work with the Italian car design house Gruppo Bertone, Bertone, where his work included designing the Alfa Romeo Carabo and A ...

, perhaps best known for styling the

Lamborghini Countach The Lamborghini Countach ( ) is a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, 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 dev ...

. 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 British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', a leading

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

daily newspaper, as an example of an "ideal car." Sir William Lyons 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 is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. 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 The Lamborghini Marzal is a concept car, first presented by Lamborghini at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show. History Designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone, it was created to supply Ferruccio Lamborghini with a true four-seater car for his ...

, influenced Gandini's design of the

Lamborghini Espada The Lamborghini Espada is a 4-seat Grand tourer, grand touring coupé built by Italian car manufacturer Lamborghini between 1968 and 1978. History The car was designed by Marcello Gandini at Gruppo Bertone, Bertone. Gandini drew inspiration an ...

. 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 Jaguar concept vehicles