Tag Archives: bertone

DB2/4 by Bertone

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1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Coupe by Bertone

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 8, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The DB2 was Aston’s first real post-war car, as they only made 15 DB1s. In 1953, the DB2 was heavily revised for a new model call the DB2/4, which would remain on sale through 1957. Three factory body styles existed: drophead coupe, two-seat coupe, and 2+2 hatchback. But a number of coachbuilt versions were also produced.

Among them are a some really striking designs by Bertone. There were seven Bertone DB2/4s in total (out of a production run of 764 total DB2/4s), and all of them were commissioned by Stanley “Wacky” Arnolt. This was the only coupe among them.

RM’s write-up makes no mention of the engine, but it’s a 2.9-liter inline-six, the larger of two engines offered during the model’s run. The restoration of the car started in 2019 and completed in time for Pebble Beach in 2023. The estimate here is $1,200,000-$1,600,000. Click here for more info.

DB2/4 Indiana Spider

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1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Indiana Spider by Bertone

Offered by Gooding & Company | London, U.K. | September 1, 2023

Photo – Gooding & Company

This car looks like a toy. It certainly looks different from other DB2/4s, with its more aggressive grille and fixed, rounded windshield frame. The car was styled by Franco Scaglione at Bertone and was built for Stanley “Wacky” Arnolt of Arnolt-Bristol (among others) fame.

The DB2/4 is powered by a 2.9-liter inline-six with twin SU carburetors for a factory-rated 140 horsepower. In the early 1950s, Arnolt partnered with Bertone to build the Arnolt-MG. In 1953, he then acquired eight DB2/4 chassis that he was going to have custom-bodied by Bertone to then sell as Arnolt-Astons.

Six of those were actually built, one disappeared, and the last one, this car, was bodied by Bertone to be Arnolt’s personal Aston Martin. It’s had many owners since and was most recently restored under 20 years ago. It now has an estimate of $1,500,000-$2,250,000. Click here for more info.

Arnolt-MG Drophead Coupe

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1954 Arnolt-MG Drophead Coupe

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 4-15, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Stanley H. “Wacky” Arnolt was a successful businessman before he got into selling cars under his own name. The first of those cars were MG TDs that had been rebodied by Bertone, with the styling itself penned by Giovanni and Nuccio Bertone in addition to Giovanni Michelotti.

He planned to sell 200 such cars, but only 103 were produced between 1953 and 1954. Arnolt would continue with his Bertone alliance through a few one-offs before the Arnolt-Bristol. The Arnolt-MG is powered by the stock TD 1.3-liter XPAG inline-four.

Only 36 of the 103 built were convertibles. And production only ended because MG told Arnolt they couldn’t spare any more chassis for him. This one has been restored, and you’ll have to check back to see if it sells. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $247,500.

Bertone XK150

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1957 Jaguar XK150 Coupe by Bertone

Offered by Bonhams | Knokke-Heist, Belgium | October 9, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Jaguar’s XK120/140/150 series of cars are pretty distinctive, and this looks nothing like them. It actually looks like a Vignale-bodied Ferrari from the mid-1950s. But it is actually an XK150 under there.

The XK150 was built from 1957 through 1961 and was available in three factory body styles and with five different engines. This car was originally powered by the base 3.4-liter inline-six that was rated at 190 horsepower. It now has a 3.8-liter unit underhood. It is one of nine supplied as a bare chassis to coachbuilders, and it is one of three bodied by Bertone.

The car was previously on display at the Blackhawk Museum and was restored in 2020. It’s a one-off mid-1950s beauty with Italian style and British underpinnings. It has a pre-sale estimate of $800,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $862,500.

Siata 200CS

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1952 Siata 200CS by Bertone

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | April 2022

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

Siata only built cars in low numbers, and they all looked like low, sleek Mille Miglia-style racing cars for the street. Well, you know, until the Spring. The 200CS was a model that launched as a bare chassis in 1952. The Chrysler V8-powered car was supposed to preview the next line of Siata cars.

But instead, they switched to Fiat 8V power, and the 200CS was kind of a stillborn project. This one is now powered by a 6.4-liter Chrysler FirePower V8, which has been installed in place of the car’s original 5.4-liter Chrysler V8. The body was built by Bertone especially for John Perona, the then-owner of New York’s El Morocco nightclub.

The current owner traced the car down in 1983, finding it in an Indiana garage. It’s unclear how many 200CS chassis were built, but this is the only one that looks like this. Bidding is already into the six figures, and you can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $689,999.

ASA 1000 GT

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1967 ASA 1000 GT Spider

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 13, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

ASA was an Italian automobile manufacturer that existed between 1961 and 1969. Their 1000 GT model was produced between 1964 and 1967 and features a chassis designed by Giotto Bizzarrini, Colombo V12-derived four-cylinder engines, and styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone. A winning combination, it sounded like.

Many of the cars funneled into the U.S. through Luigi Chinetti, but American customers didn’t know what an ASA was, so not many were sold. Less than 100 1000 GTs were built, with some sources quoting numbers closer to 75. Only 17 of those were Spiders.

Power is from a 1.0-liter inline-four that was rated at 91 horsepower. Not a bad figure for the displacement and the era, but it was still paltry when compared to a period big-block Corvette, which cost less. Today, however, these are more well regarded. This example is expected to sell for between $160,000-$180,000. Click here for more info and here for more form this sale.

Update: Sold $201,600.

Bertone DB2/4 Drophead Coupe

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1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe by Bertone

Offered by Gooding & Company | Online | January 18-22, 2021

Photo – Gooding & Company

The DB2/4 was the follow-up to Aston Martin’s earlier DB2 model. It was succeeded by the DB Mk III, and yeah, Aston’s early naming scheme didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Anyway, the DB2/4 was built in two series between 1953 and 1957. The base car was a 2+2 hatchback, but both fixed head and drophead coupes were also offered, some with fancy coachbuilt bodies.

This 1954 example is one of 565 Series I cars (out of a total run of 764 units). Of those 565, 102 were drophead coupes. Just two of those wear beautiful Bertone coachwork like this. It is recognizable as an Aston if you look at it, but it could easily be confused for something Italian.

Power is from a 2.6-liter inline-six making 125 horsepower. This car is good for 120 mph, and cars built shortly after this example began receiving the 140-horsepower 2.9-liter engine. Bonhams sold this car for over $800,000 in 2011, and now Gooding is offering it without an estimate. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $968,000.

B.A.T. 9

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1955 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 9d

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | October 28, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

And then there was this one, the final Alfa Romeo B.A.T. concept car of the 1950s (they actually produced a B.A.T. 11 concept in 2008 as a sort of tribute to the first three). Scaglione’s styling on this one was a little more subdued. The rear wings shrunk down, and the front end actually carried an Alfa Romeo corporate look, foreshadowing the Giulietta Sprint Speciale.

This one also debuted at the Turin Motor Show, albeit in 1955. Ownership history is known since new, and the powertrain was again sourced from Alfa’s 1900.

The story of the three of these being united is interesting. Nuccio Bertone was in Pasadena, California, in 1989, and the organizers of the Pebble Beach Concours arranged to have all three cars displayed at their show, which Bertone ended up attending. While there, a collector made offers on all three, and it worked. The cars later spent ~10 years at the Blackhawk Museum and are all three now being offered as a single lot. Click here for more info.

Update: All three B.A.T. cars sold as a single lot for $14,840,000.

B.A.T. 7

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1954 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 7

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | October 28, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This is the second of the three Alfa Romeo B.A.T. concept cars that RM Sotheby’s is offering as a single lot later this week in New York. It was also styled by Franco Scaglione at Bertone and carries a similar look as BAT 5, except that those rear wings are pulled so far inward they look like the spiraling vapor trails off the end of a plane’s wing.

The driveline was sourced from Alfa’s 1900, meaning that this car has a 115-horsepower 2.0-liter inline-four. Designed without the aid of computers (and likely little-to-no windtunnel time), the BAT 7 boasts a drag coefficient of 0.19. That’s better than a Prius, a car designed specifically to slip through the air.

This car debuted at the 1954 Turin Motor Show and was later sent to the U.S. by Alfa Romeo. It even ran in SCCA races in 1955. The rear wings were removed at one point before being re-installed during a late-1980s cosmetic restoration. Click here for more info.

Update: All three B.A.T. cars sold as a single lot for $14,840,000.

B.A.T. 5

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1953 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 5

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | October 28, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Alfa Romeo Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica concept cars of the mid-1950s are some of the most wildly stylish prototypes ever built. Each was bodied by Franco Scaglione at Bertone as an attempt to research the effects of aerodynamic drag on a car. Thus, the swoopy, be-winged designs.

This is the first of the three coupes produced (no, I don’t know why they started with “5”). It debuted at the 1953 Turin Motor Show and is powered by a twin-cam inline-four that supposedly made somewhere between 75 and 100 horsepower. The car’s styling resulted in a drag coefficient of just 0.23. That enabled the tiny engine to push the car to over 120 mph.

Stanley Arnolt was the first private owner, and it has known history since then. RM Sotheby’s is now offering all three B.A.T. concept cars as one lot. It’s an easy eight-figure sale, should it meet the astronomical reserve. Click here for more info.

Update: All three B.A.T. cars sold as a single lot for $14,840,000.