This One-of-a-Kind Bertone Was the Coachbuilder’s Final Car. Now It Can Be Yours.

The wedge-shaped sports car was created to celebrate the Italian company’s 100th anniversary.

History isn’t always pretty.

A working version of the Bertone Nuccio concept from early last decade is up for auction right now through RM Sotheby’s. Not only is the wedge-shaped sports car a one-off, but it’s the last vehicle to bear the legendary coachbuilder’s name.

Bertone knew it had to do something big early last decade. The Italian coachbuilder was about to turn 100, so its then-design director, Mike Robinson, was tasked with crafting a new sports car inspired by one of its most famous creations, the Lancia Stratos Zero. The resulting Nuccio, which is named for founder Giovanni Bertone’s son, would also turn out to be the last Bertone, as the company would declare bankruptcy in 2015, just three years after the concept made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show.

The Nuccio has the same wedge shape as the iconic Stratos Zero, but that’s where the similarities. The concept is certainly bold, but it is nowhere near as slick as its predecessor. Its exterior is an awkward mashup of new and old ideas—the sharp roofline and giant windscreen give off the impression the car has been crushed—though its dual-color paint job and full-width headlights really work. The Nuccio won’t go down as one of Bertone’s most memorable designs, but it’s certainly not boring.

It is also more than just a show car. A fully functional version was eventually built, which varied ever so slightly from the car that debuted in Geneva and was later shown in Beijing. That car pairs the concept’s wild styling with the 4.3-liter V-8 and six-speed Graziano automated manual from a Ferrari F430. No performance specs are available, but in the Prancing Horse, the powertrain made 483 hp and 343 ft lbs of torque, enabling it to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and hit a top speed of 196 mph.

Bertone tried to find a buyer for the Nuccio but was unable to before going out of business. Because of this, the car went into storage but was sold to its current owner as part of an auction of the company’s assets in 2018. The car has over 18,000 miles on it, but the majority of that was totaled by the F430 that serves as its skeleton.

Are you in the market for something unorthodox for your collection? The Nuccio is currently up for auction as part of RM Sotheby’s “Sealed Drop" sale, which runs through Thursday, July 17. The auction house expects the car to sell for between $460,000 and $600,000.

From the article by Bryan Hood