Bertone Plant LIVES again!

Jim McKenzie

Jim McKenzie

1972 850 Spider
Fiat to produce two models at Bertone plant
Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:50am EDT Email | Print | Share | Reprints | Single
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TURIN, Italy, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Italian carmaker Fiat (FIA.MI) will produce two models at the Bertone plant near Turin, a trade union source said on Thursday, citing a meeting with a company executive.

When production lines are fully operative Fiat will manufacture 50,000 cars per year at the factory, the source cited Fiat Powertrain Technologies chief executive Alfredo Altavilla as saying during a meeting in Turin.

Production of the first model will start at the end of 2011, the source said.

The Italian government authorised the sale of the troubled Turin-based car bodywork company Carrozzeria Bertone to Fiat at the start of August. (Reporting by Gianni Montani; Writing by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Dan Lalor)

Now, if they could just make new X1/9's....
 
Ummmm....

From what I read about a month ago, Fiat was going to be building Chrysler's there for sale in Europe? There was something about using a Fiat platform for the 300M?

www.italiaspeed.com is where I gather most of my info. Go there and take a look at the 2010 SRT8 in Plum Crazy. I'd buy one just because it has 425 HP!

Mudge

I just went back to Italiaspeed and found the article. You have to go to the back button on their website and click till you get back to 15.10.2009 and you'll see a Chrysler logo. Click on that and you'll see the article. Very interesting stuff.
 
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About Bertone..

Back in the day.. Bertone invested in design and low volume production as part of the long term business plan.

While Bertone is known as a Carrozzeria/styling house.. they were also set up with flexiable low volume production. For much of Bertone's history from 1973 to 1988, they built the X1/9 as a product along with other speciality cars. But it was the X that kept them going during the worst of times..

I knew Bertone was headed for trouble when the X stopped production and Mr. Bertone passed on..

Of the singficnat Carrozzeria of that time Bertone, Ital Design, Ghia, Pininfarina, Zagato.... Ital Design became a significant Industrial design orginazation designing every thing fromcars to pasta to dental chairs and even cameras....
 
I thought the X1/99 concept car looked cool but definately needed to be mid-engined, or just it wouldn't have been an X1/9.
 
Abarth is planning to introduce a mid-engine two seater version of Lotus Elise/Exige chassis. This could be considered the next version of the x1/9.

Me thinks the Abarth/Lotus marriage is a good one for both companies.

Bernice

janet80 said:
I thought the X1/99 concept car looked cool but definately needed to be mid-engined, or just it wouldn't have been an X1/9.
Click to expand...
 
Rupunzell said:
Abarth is planning to introduce a mid-engine two seater version of Lotus Elise/Exige chassis. This could be considered the next version of the x1/9.

Me thinks the Abarth/Lotus marriage is a good one for both companies.

Bernice
Click to expand...

Oh my! :excited: I want one!
 
The Next X1/9? Maybe we should start a petition?

More info:


Illustrated: Abarth to get Lotus-based sports car by 2011
07/28/2008, 2:47 PM
By Nick Aziz

Fiat’s reborn Abarth division has struck a secret deal with Lotus to use the next Elise to underpin its first stand-alone sports car in more than 30 years, sources have revealed. The project has been planned to hit European streets in 2011 and will give Abarth a light-weight two-seater to give a halo model to its existing Grande Punto- and Cinquecento-based sports models. While there has been no indication of the car’s name, nor a description of its exterior, we’ve put together a speculative illustration to underscore an important point: this will be much more than a simple re-badge.

Besides having unique styling, it will also differ from the English sports cars by using the Fiat Group’s new-generation of turbo-charged, direct-injection, air-valve four-cylinder engines, which promise high torque, high power and low emissions.

While Fiat executives have been coy on the stand-alone Abarth model, sources insist the project is already deep in development between Hethel’s engineering division and Torino.

Understood to use the highest power output version of Fiat’s revolutionary new air-head engines, the mid-engined, aluminium Abarth flyer will have more than 240 horsepower from its turbo-charged, direct-injection four-cylinder engine. And all in a package weighing around 900kg (1,985lbs).

At the recent Cinquecento Abarth launch, Abarth CEO Luca de Meo admitted he dreamed of a stand-alone Abarth but denied there were firm plans to produce one.

“Maybe one day we can develop a model that is just an Abarth for Abarth,” he said. “We might have this one day, but we don’t have the in-house resources to do that today.”

But sources insist Abarth has made up for its lack of in-house resources by enlisting Lotus Engineering’s help to short cut the cost, time and complexity of developing a new chassis. It will use an almost-identical version of the Elise’s chassis – itself a smaller version of the modular, bonded aluminium chassis technology which will debut with the Lotus Evora this year.

Slightly wider and longer than the existing Elise chassis, the new architecture will arrive in the Elise first in 2010, then in the Abarth less than a year later.

While refusing to acknowledge its Lotus-based sports car existed, de Meo hinted that any such car could be in for a long life wearing the scorpion badge.

“We won’t change our models all the time and we won’t have a large range,” da Meo said. “I see more the continuous development over long periods of two or three classic models, like Porsche does with the 911,” de Meo insisted.

Given that the Elise has now been “up” for 13 years, de Meo may have been dropping a bigger hint than he realized.
 
Drool

Might have to sell the Mustang if this coupe ever becomes reality in the US...

abarth-coupe---will-w.jpg
 
The folks over at Autocar have confirmed that Lotus is collaborating with Abarth on their new mid-engined sports car project, which will be based upon the same extruded aluminium chassis of the third-generation Lotus Elise that’s due to drop sometime in 2010.

Weighing just 900kg and boasting some 179kW from its turbocharged direct-injection inline four, the Abarth roadster should be just the thing to put Fiat’s recently revived performance division back on the sports car map, and will sit at the top of the marque’s food chain above the Abarth Grande Punto and 500 SS.

With composite bodywork and it’s own unique styling, the as-yet-unnamed Abarth won’t just be a rebadged Elise. The engine is also uniquely Italian, and is reportedly a development of the Fiat Group’s “Multi-air” eco-friendly engine.

The Abarth roadster will enter the European market in 2011, approximately one year after the new Elise sees its debut. Aesthetics are still an unknown, however you can expect it to somewhat resemble the SS Concept shown above.
 
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