Italian design house Bertone is no longer under the same ownership of the family which led to such automotive icons as the Lamborghini Miura and Lancia Stratos HF, but that hasn’t stopped it from looking to the past for a new car.
The Bertone Runabout is the marque’s latest creation, a modern evolution of the Marcello Gandini-designed Autobianchi A112 Runabout of 1969, which eventually went on to be the effective basis of the Fiat X1/9 mid-engined sports car.
Available as a roofless ‘barchetta’ or a removable-top targa, just 25 examples will be made, each priced from over £400,000 (A$791,000) – not including customisations.
Not wanting to stray too far from the original mid-engined formula, Bertone’s new Runabout has launched with the underpinnings of the Lotus Exige, one of the most highly regarded driver’s cars of the 21st century.
Sharing its chassis with the Exige means the Runabout is powered by a 3.5-litre supercharged V6 from a Toyota, now making 350kW and 490Nm, well up on the 321kW and 454Nm figures managed by the lotus.
Drive is sent to the rear wheels, exclusively through a six-speed manual transmission, with Bertone quoting a 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.1 seconds, as well as a top speed of 270km/h.
With carbon fibre extensively used for its construction, the Runabout tips the scales at just under 1060kg, or about 120kg lighter than the Exige.
While the powertrain is impressive, it isn’t the star of the show, with that honour going to the Runabout’s bodywork – a faithful adaptation of the 1960s concept.
Though the original Gandini-designed car had no roof or doors, the units on either side of the new creation follow similar lines to its inspiration, as does its three-tiered paint scheme.
Bertone hasn’t shared photos of them in operation, however the Runabout does feature pop-up headlights, a feature not originally on the concept, though present on a number of its previously designed icons (such as the aforementioned Miura and Stratos).
Perhaps the most striking feature to be recreated is the front wheel-arches, which peer above the bonnet line, and are now filled by 18-inch wheels (with 19-inch forged wheels at the back).
There are no images of its interior either, though Bertone has said the cabin features a central digital tachometer, sitting within what it calls a sculpted object, inspired by a single carved basin.
The Runabout is Bertone’s second vehicle to be launched after the brand was sold to the Ricci family in 2022, following the Lamborghini Huracan-based GB110 revealed in 2024.
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