Fiat Group to Make an Offer to Buy Carozzeria Bertone

The Fiat Group's appetite for acquiring automakers has yet to lose its edge. Today it was confirmed that Fiat S.p.A will make a 'non-binding offer' for Italian automotive design and contract manufacturing firm, Carrozeria Bertone that could be sold as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. It is reported that the deadline to make bids for the Italian coachbuilder is Thursday, July 16 with court administrators planning to have the sale completed by the end of the month.

Other companies interested in buying Bertone are said to include Chinese automaker FAW, an unnamed Spanish consortium and Italian entrepreneurs Gianmario Rossignolo and Domenico Reviglio.

Aside from the Carrozeria Bertone's design and engineering capability for specialty vehicles and concept cars, the firm also has a manufacturing plant in Turin. According to the coachbuilder's official site, the Grugliasco factory covers a total area of 310,000 sq.m. and has a potential output of around 70,000 vehicles per year.

The maker of the Corvette ZR-1 based Mantide concept supercar currently employs 1,140 people, down from 1,450 at the end of 2007.

Via: Autonews (Sub. Req.)

Bertone Could Produce Up to 10 Examples of ZR1-Based Mantide Priced at $2 Million a Piece

Many may find the Bertone Mantide's design controversial, to say the least, but there's no doubt that every rare supercar has its place in the world of automotive collectors. So it comes to no surprise that according to Bertone's chief designer and the man at fault responsible for the Mantide's styling, Jason Castriota, the Italian firm could produce as many as 10 units of the Corvette ZR1-based sportscar.

"The project has an anonymous benefactor, but it is in fact for sale either as a singular example, or with the possibility of building an extremely limited series," Castriota told the NY Times in an e-mail message. "At the moment there is considerable interest around the world as we have been contacted by potential clients in Asia, Europe and America," he added.

Despite its relatively humble underpinnings - humble in the sense that a Corvette ZR1 will set you back a 'mere' $104,920 or about €79,000, the Mantide's price will hover close to a staggering $2,000,000 or around €1,500,000. Like it or not, we have no doubt that there's a handful of people out there who will be more than willing to pay such a high price to own a supercar like the Mantide.

Via: NY Times

VIDEO: Bertone Mantide Presentation at Shanghai Auto Show

We've pretty much summed up our feelings about John Castriota's Corvette ZR1-based Bertone Mantide in our previous post here, so we're not going to get into the design discussion again. Just hit the jump to watch to watch the coupe's presentation from the Shanghai Auto Show earlier this month, and don't forget to lower the volume of your speakers because you're probably going to get as annoyed as we did the music background.

Bertone Mantide Live from Shanghai Auto Show

Nope, as much as some of our readers may disagree with us, these live photos of the Corvette ZR1-based Bertone Mantide still don't do the trick. We continue to believe that the Mantide's appearance and especially the car's front-end styling, looks like it was the work of some haphazard Chinese automaker and not from a famed design house like Bertone. At some point the vehicle's cat-lipped buttocks could grow on us, but don't expect that to happen any time soon. Read more about the Mantide here.

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Pics copyright: UP

Bertone Mantide based on Corvette - Really, it's not a Chinese Concept...

Don't you just love the media's double standards? If its Chinese, it's junk, if its Western European or American it's a masterpiece. Excuse me, but the first thing that came to mind upon seeing Jason Castriota's Corvette ZR1-based Bertone Mantide Concept was 'hey, this thing looks like it came straight out of the design studio of some random and gawkily named Chinese automaker'. Sure it captures your attention as any concept sportscar would do, but this ain't no Italian beauty... Those that disagree with us may -and should- leave their thoughts in the comment section below.

Even though we may not find its design alluring -at least in the classic Italian sense, compared to the Corvette ZR1 donor car, drag has been reduced by 25% to Cd 0.298 while there's also a 30% improvement in down force.

Bertone claims that the Mantide also promises greater performance than the ZR1, due to significant weight savings, achieved through the extensive use of carbon fibre for all body panels, interior trim, seats and even the wheels. The result is that the overall vehicle weight has been reduced by 100 kilos or 220 pounds over the ZR1.

Equipped with the Corvette ZR1's 640Hp supercharged V8, the Mantide sprints from 0 to 62mph (100km/h) in 3.2 seconds and has a top speed of 351km/h (217mph).

The Mantide made its global debut at the Shanghai Auto Show.

New Teaser Reveals that Bertone's Project M is Based on the Corvette ZR1

Much to our dismay, the mysterious one-off supercar that Stile Bertone is going to introduce at this month's Shanghai Auto Show in China will not be based on the Nissan GT-R. The sixth episode of Bertone's 'Project M' documentary-style video series reveals that the supercar that the Italian firm's Design Director, John Castriota, is working on uses the underpinnings of the Corvette ZR1. Cool but in our opinion, far less intriguing than if it were based on the GT-R. Click through to watch the new episode on the 'Project M'.

Bertone to Unveil One-Off Supercar in Shanghai, Could it be Based on the Nissan GT-R?

We have just learned that Stile Bertone is readying a one-off supercar in the likes of Pininfarina's Ferrari P4/5 that will be unveiled to the world for the first time at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 20. Not many details have been disclosed yet, but the Italian design house did reveal that the man behind the mysterious supercar's styling is Jason Castriota. Furthermore, the firm's media partner launched an online poll asking visitors which of the following brands 'lent' its chassis to the one-off supercar: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Corvette, Porsche, Aston Martin and Nissan.

Needless to say that if the private individual who ordered the car chose the Nissan GT-R as a base, Stile Bertone is in for heaps of publicity - many times more than if it's based on any of the other brands' vehicles, including Ferrari.

And a few words on Jason Castriota. The 35-year old American designer who was born in New York to Italian parents, moved to Stile Bertone in December 2008 as the firm's Design Director after a promising career at Pininfarina where he worked on many projects including the Ferrari P4/5, Maserati Birdcage 75th, Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Maserati GranTurismo and the Rolls-Royce Hyperion.

Info: ProjectM

Bertone, Zagato and Morgan to Reveal New Concepts at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este

This year's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este's to be held at the end of April near the Lake Como in northern Italy will see the world debut of three brand new concept cars by Stile Bertone, Morgan and Zagato. A further five design studies including BMW's Gina, Infiniti's Essence GT, Aston Martin's One-77, Fisker's Karma S and Rinspeed's i-Change will also make their way to the show.

While no details were released for Andrea Zagato's concept, it was revealed that Stilo Bertone's study will be a lightweight sports car powered by a V8 engine while Morgan's prototype model will be a two seater built on the Morgan Aeromax platform.

Bertone Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 11 Concept Based on the Alfa 8c Competizione

Italian car styling and coachbuilding house Bertone has released a sketch previewing a new Alfa Romeo sports coupe concept based on the Alfa 8c Competizione platform and mechanics. The concept revives the stunning Alfa Romeo B.A.T. (Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica or aerodynamic technical Berlinetta in plain English) prototypes that Bertone produced back in the 50’s (BAT 5 in 1953, BAT 7 in 1954, and BAT 9 in 1955). -Continued after the jump

Now for the bad news; according to a report from Automotive News, the struggling Bertone Group which is currently undergoing a deep industrial restructuring had initially announced via its Vice-Chairman Marie-Jeanne Bertone that the concept would be unveiled at the Geneva Show in March. However, a contradicting press release from Stile Bertone Chairman Lilli Bertone, Marie-Jeanne's mother stated that the Bertone group would skip the show. Take your pick…

Via: ANE (sub. req.)