Giuseppe Bertone, also called "Nuccio", (4 July 1914, in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

– 26 February 1997, in Turin) was an

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

designer and constructor. He took over Carrozzeria Bertone from his father, Giovanni after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, growing the small business to a car building and designing powerhouse. After racing

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

, O.S.C.A.,

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

, and

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

, 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 () is 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 1938 having shared it with Milan and Ro ...

. He drew attention at the

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show () is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently takes place in Paris expo Porte de V ...

that year with an

Abarth Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing- and road-car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Abarth's logo is a shield with a ...

concept, and was chosen to design the replacement for the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante. These so-called

BAT Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). 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 birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

(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. 1962 Ferrari 250 SWB Torino Nuccio Bertone

1962 Ferrari 250 SWB Torino Nuccio Bertone

Two years later at Turin, Bertone introduced the Storm Z concept based on a

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

chassis alongside his latest BAT concept and a prototype of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint, which would become the company's main product for the coming years. Bertone built more than 31,000 bodies in 1960, including Fiat 850 Spiders,

Fiat Dino The Fiat Dino (Type 135) was a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by Fiat from 1966 to 1973. The Dino name refers to the Ferrari Dino V6 engine, produced by Fiat and installed in the cars to achieve the production numbers sufficien ...

s, Simca 1200S coupes, the

Alfa Romeo Montreal The Alfa Romeo Montreal is a sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1970 to 1977. History The Alfa Romeo Montreal was introduced as a concept car in 1967 at the Expo 67, held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Orig ...

, and

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...

s. His 100th design was a special

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...

, introduced at the 1965

New York Auto Show The New York International Auto Show is an annual auto show that is held in Manhattan, New York City in late March or early April. It is held at the Javits Center, Jacob Javits Convention Center. It usually opens on or just before Easter weeke ...

and commissioned by

Automobile Quarterly ''Automobile Quarterly'' was a hardbound, advertising-free periodical publication focused on collectible cars. The publication was known for its quality writing and photography of automobiles, personalities and related subjects. History and prof ...

. From 1972 to 1989 built the

Fiat X1/9 The Fiat X1/9 is an Italian two-seater mid-engined sports car designed by Gruppo Bertone, 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-engine ...

. Bertone summed up his philosophy when introducing the

Fiat 850 The Fiat 850 (''Tipo 100G'') is a small rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, 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 o ...

: :"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." When Bertone designed

s, penned by

Giorgetto Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002. He w ...

, this was a radical departure for Ferrari that drew the ire of rival design house

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (; ; short for Pininfarina Società per Azioni) is an Italian automotive design, car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 ...

, which Ferrari had so far often worked with. However, his two 250 GT SWBs only foreshadowed the controversial Dino 308 GT4 of the 1970s, 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 ...

, who had by that time designed several stand-out models for Ferrari's rival

. Bertone was inducted into the

Automotive Hall of Fame The Automotive Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum honoring influential figures in the history of the automotive industry. Located in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, US. The Hall of Fame is part of the MotorCities National Herita ...

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