Ciao Bella! Bertone’s New Runabout Is an Analogue Antidote to Modern Cars

With this wedge-shaped wonder, the New Runabout, a $600,000 limited edition of 25 hand-made supercars, the Italian coachbuilding legends at Bertone have made everyone’s jaw hit the floor yet again. This thing is stunning. It’s a little slice of perfection from an alternate universe where Italian futurism still rules the road.

But, as always when Bertone is involved, the appeal goes more than skin deep; the New Runabout thing is packing a proper six-speed manual gearbox, a mid-mounted supercharged V6, a featherweight aluminium chassis, and your choice of Targa-top or roofless Barchetta bodywork. With 468 horsepower going to the rear wheels in a car that tips the scales at just 1,150 kg, we expect the driving experience will be endlessly thrilling.

Give Me the Details of the Bertone New Runabout?

After several teasers, Bertone finally unveiled the New Runabout at Rétromobile 2026, the prestigious Parisian classic car show.

Don’t go thinking this is some glorified restomod, because it’s not. Each Runabout is built on a brand new chassis. Although Bertone isn’t saying where the chassis comes from, Top Gear reported it shares some similarities with the Lotus Exige. That would help explain why this mid-engine supercar with a V6 weighs just 1,150 kg. It’s incredibly light for any modern car, let alone one with this much power.

The engine is a transversely-mounted 3.5-liter 60-degree V6, featuring an aluminum block and aluminum heads, with four valves per cylinder and dual variable valve timing. Again, the company isn’t saying who supplies the basic engine block, but it could be Toyota. It’s boosted by an Eaton supercharger, but Bertone is promising, “OEM reliability levels.”

In the cabin, you sit low in a hull-like tub, surrounded by wonderful exposed mechanical details. Gear changes are done via gated manual shifter.   “Every surface follows a principle of reduction and purpose,” explains Bertone. “A carbon-fiber seat shell, aluminum-milled components, mechanical switchgear, and hand-finished leather are used for their functional and tactile qualities, each shaped through dedicated machining and finishing processes. Form is kept simple, while material execution provides depth and character.”

A maritime compass on the dashboard nods to the Runabout’s nautical inspiration (but please don’t try to see if it floats).

The company is promising a true bespoke experience for all 25 buyers who pony up €390,000 (approximately $630,000) before tax. “Every client follows a curated configuration journey, shaping the car’s identity through a personal dialogue with Bertone’s Centro Stile,” says the company. “This process embodies the purest form of modern Italian coachbuilding.”

Bertone Who?

Even if you don’t know the name, you know Bertone’s work. The firm has been at the forefront of automotive design for over 100 years. As one of the great Italian coachbuilders — along with Pininfarina and Zagato — Bertone was never one to shy away from shock and awe. To put it in fashion terms, think of Bertone as the Balenciaga of car design; it’s all about architectural rigour over ornamentation, and a willingness to disturb rather than simply please. The Bertone-designed Lamborghini Countach, for example, wasn’t beautiful per se. Compared to its peers, the wedge-shaped Countach looked aggressive, alien and confrontational. Similarly, Balenciaga (both historically and recently under Demna) never chased easy prettiness, and neither has Bertone. Despite its boundary-pushing edginess, or perhaps because of it, Bertone’s influence on car design cannot be overstated.

Bertone’s New Runabout? Wait, Was There an Old One?

Good question! Yes, there is an old Bertone Runabout, and it’s one of the coolest designs from this prolific Italian coachbuilder, which is saying a lot. (Remember that Bertone was the firm behind the Lancia Stratos Zero, Lambos Miura and Countach, and the Alfa Romeo Carabo.)

The old Bertone Runabout debuted at the 1969 Turin Motor Show as a radical roofless concept designed by Marcello Gandini. It was pure hedonism on wheels, a reflection of the optimism and futurism of Italy at the end of the 1960s. But, under the hood, the original Runabout was rather humble. Based on the Autobianchi A112 platform, Gandini’s design was powered by a dinky 1.1-litre four-cylinder engine that would struggle to keep up with an e-scooter today. Nevertheless, the little runabout proved influential, directly inspiring the long-running Fiat X1/9.

Nuccio Bertone, then head of the firm founded by his father, “sought to break away from the conventions of mainstream car design, creating a concept that championed aesthetic liberation and the courage to explore form beyond prevailing norms,” according to the company.

What Makes It Worth $600,000?

What, besides the way it looks, the pedigree behind the name, and the back-to-basics analogue spec sheet? Well, the simple fact it exists at all is a minor miracle. You see, the car business in built on economies of scale. As cars get more complex, and crash safety and emissions regulations get tighter, the economies of scale necessary to turn a profit keep getting bigger. To have a hope in hell of making money, most car companies have no choice but to build cars with the broadest possible appeal, one machine to please drivers in rural Texas, downtown New York, southern Spain, South America and Slovakia.

It’s like Hollywood: the stuff that gets made, for the most part, is stuff that appeals to the lowest common denominator.

Bertone’s new Runabout may be rather pricey compared to your average Porsche, but this is a true low-volume, coachbuilt marvel that runs against all prevailing auto industry logic. It ticks all the right analogue boxes for driving enthusiasts and — compared to other multi-million dollar coachbuilt cars — the Bertone perversely seems like rather good value.

FEATURE PHOTO COURTESY OF BERTONE.

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