TURIN – Italian coachbuilder and design house, Bertone SpA, known for the cabriolets and spiders it has created for the Alfa Romeo and Fiat brands, is following a new trend in Europe favoring a convertible coupe.
Bertone will have the opportunity to show off its capabilities in designing, engineering and constructing a 4-seat coupe with a retractable hardtop at the Geneva auto show this week with a vehicle it says is a “concept sports car that interprets the coupe-cabriolet theme with aggressive elegance.”
Developed from the Fiat (Grande) Punto, the Bertone concept slots into the B-segment compact-car market here and is being heralded as the only hardtop coupe-cabriolet of its size and price class with four “real” seats.
The new design features bold character lines that combine a sloping front with a high waistline, and muscular rear. The concept clearly reflects one of Bertone's favorite subjects: the affordable open sports car that young drivers can buy and fully enjoy for its nippy and agile feeling and clear-cut personality.
The concept car, which has no public name yet, aims at setting new benchmarks for interior space and on-board quality of life. Bertone says the cabin layout is the result of meticulous volumetric and ergonomic studies geared to levels of comfort and roominess comparable only with a higher-segment car.
