The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
At the end of the 1960’s Bertone focussed his creative energies on prototypes. The Turin designer’s creativity and daring reached its peak in 1968 with the Carabo, which was presented at the Paris Motor Show in October.
The Alfa Romeo Carabo was built on the Alfa Romeo 33 chassis with a centrally-mounted engine, it became a style classic, known for its creativity and original features, some of which contribute to its legendary standing. Design features like its tight lines, tapering front blending in seamlessly with the windscreen, and the air inlets and outlets. And the original door mechanism, with doors opening upwards and forwards (a concept which reappears on the production Countach), and even the novel colour: iridescent green like a beetle (hence the name Carabo, in Italian, a type of beetle). The result hit the headlines all round the world, and not just in the trade press, and the positive feedback was unanimous. The Alfa Romeo Carabo was Bertone‘s bold but aesthetically and functionally valid vision of the sporty car of the future. And the use of new materials and novel construction techniques means that this concept car was something more than just an exercise in styling.
The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, based on the racing car of the same name, is the street legal version of the Type 33 and is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful cars of all time. 5 chassis were used by the best Italian coachbuilders to created a series of extraordinary concept cars.
Bertone was probably the most innovative and certainly the most courageous coachbuilder in the automotive history. We’ve tried to rank them, here are the 20 greatest concept cars made by Bertone. We are aware that you will not always agree with us, so let us know what are your favourite one’s in the comment section.
The Alfa Romeo Carabo was built on the Alfa Romeo 33 chassis with a centrally-mounted engine, it became a style classic, known for its creativity and original features, some of which contribute to its legendary standing.
The beginning of Bertone Bertone was founded in November 1912, when Giovanni Bertone, then aged 28, opened a workshop specialising in the construction and…
