BERTONE JOB-LOT SALE

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An extraordinary collection of 79 of Bertone’s cars – many of which are prototypes and styling proposals – has been put up for sale.

 

Following months of speculation, as many as 79 cars, some of them prototypes and styling studies will now be auctioned online. There are two important caveats with the sale, which runs until 28 September – the lucky bidder has to buy the collection in its entirety, and cars have to remain in Italy, save for show appearances overseas.

The sale follows Gruppo Bertone’s demise last year, debilitating inter-family squabbles having raged since second-generation studio chief Nuccio Bertone died in 1997. The firm’s car-building plant in Grugliasco was sold to Fiat in 2009 while the car-styling department Bertone Design was shuttered in March 2014. 

There has been much debate over the fate of the historical collection since then, with six cars having already been sold at the RM Auctions’ sale at Villa Erbe on the shores of Lake Como, Italy in 2012 as Bertone tried to raise much-needed funds. These included the legendary Lancia Stratos Zero and Lamborghini Marzal. 

The administrator is seeking to raise at least 3m euros in order to pay off at least some of Bertone’s debts. The opening price of the collection has been set at €1.5 million (£1,1 million). The collection includes several Lamborghinis including a Miura, Countach and an Espada in addition to show cars at the 1969 Autobianchi Runabout that foretold the Fiat X1/9. Some intriguing curios include the bizarre Fiat-Lancia X1-20 development hack based around the hull of a Fiat Ritmo/Strada.

The valuation of the collection has raised eyebrows with the specialist Italian media. Ruoteclassiche, for example, believes the opening bid represent a mere 30 per cent of the collection’s true value on the opening market. However, this low estimate is understandable given that Italy’s Ministry of Heritage has insisted that the collection cannot be split up in the future in an effort to ward off speculators. The Bertone brand name is also for sale seperately for around €3m (£2.2m).

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