The Bertone Runabout idea, which discovered fame within the Sixties with its radical wedge-shaped design, has lastly reached manufacturing greater than 5 a long time after it was proven as a one-off.
The 1969 Marcello Gandini-penned Runabout mixed a roofless and doorless physique with a 1.1-litre Autobianchi powertrain.
Its outlandish design went on to affect Fiat‘s X1/9 sports activities automotive of 1972.
This contemporary, £400,000 follow-up shares the identical philosophy however is a much more attractive driving proposition, due to it sitting on a box-fresh Exige (sporting a brand new VIN) and drawing energy from the Lotus‘s supercharged, Toyota-sourced 3.5-litre V6 – however each additional enhanced. The engine now makes 469bhp and 361lb ft of torque (up from 430bhp and 335lb ft) and the chassis has been lightened – which along with carbonfibre physique panels leads to a kerb weight of simply 1180kg.
Like within the Exige, the Runabout comes with a six-speed guide gearbox and rear-wheel drive.
This all comes collectively for a 0-62mph time of 4.1sec and a 168mph high velocity.
It is the customisation choices that the Italian design home is proudest of, nonetheless.
For instance, patrons can go for Bertone-branded helmets and a baggage set designed to fit into the automotive’s slim boot and glovebox.
The expectation, stated Bertone, is that no two vehicles from the manufacturing run of 25 would be the similar.
“Each shopper follows a curated configuration journey, shaping the automotive’s identification by a private dialogue with Bertone’s centro stile,” it stated.
Such restricted manufacturing means there isn’t any want for the Runabout to observe homologation guidelines, which explains its extraordinarily low and slim entrance finish and pop-up headlights.
These complement a pair of pencil-line daytime-running lights dissecting the central, dividing line of the automotive.
