Ferrari by Bertone

Although by 1972 Ferrari had been building race and road cars for 25 years and had turned out well over 3,000 vehicles, only three were bodied by Bertone, a cabriolet and a pair of berlinettas, but what sensational cars they were, particularly the two special berlinettas built on 250 GT platforms. Then, in 1972, Ferrari’s estranged relationship with Bertone changed with the announcement that the new V8 Dino, the 308 GT/4 2+2, would be bodied by Bertone, but until then the Turinese carrozzeria had been a Maranello outsider looking in.

The reasons why Bertone (pronounced “bear-tony”) was overlooked by Ferrari during its formative years are both obscure and varied. The first Bertone Ferrari, a 166 Inter 2+2 Cabriolet, chassis number 0057 S, was a rather bland example that was displayed at the May, 1950, Turin Show. The design, attributed to Bertone’s Mario Revelli de Beaumont, was plain, almost austere, and not nearly as beautiful or exciting as the bodies Touring was then producing for Ferrari, nor as flamboyant as Vignale’s coachwork for Ferrari in the early 1950s.