Nuccio Bertone, 2012 (Miniminiera)
Tucked into a back corner of the Beijing Motor Show is the Bertone Nuccio, a one-off styling exercise that was conceived to pay tribute to the Italian company's 100th anniversary. Unlike some styling bucks, however, Bertone officials insist that this car runs and drives, and will eventually be sold to a private collector.
The styling is influenced by three key Bertone designs from the past: the 1968 Carabo, the 1970 Stratos Zero, and the 1973 Lamborghini Countach. The name pays tribute to company founder Nuccio Bertone. By virtue of the mid-engine design, the front of the Nuccio consists of a single plane, with the expansive windshield flat with the car's nose and roofline. Above the windshield are two "peak" shapes, after which the bodywork hastily drops down toward the engine compartment. The tail has a full-width LED taillight bar, twin parallelogram exhaust finishers, and an aggressive diffuser.
Mechanically, the Nuccio is based on the Ferrari F430, although Bertone has tweaked the 4.3-liter V-8 engine to produce 480 hp. The company also says the Nuccio is lighter than the F430. After showing it in Beijing, Bertone will take the car back to Italy for more work and test runs.
Other unusual features on the car include front running lights that glow brighter when the car is braking, ostensibly so that pedestrians can tell if an approaching car is slowing. The interior has bright-orange seats and an assortment of exposed aluminum trim pieces.
automobilemag.com