7 Legendary Cars That Make Us Sad Bertone Has Gone Bust

Some sad motoring news emerged earlier this week, when it was revealed that legendary Italian design house Bertone had ceased trading. Mounting debts are the main cause, and if a buyer isn't found by the end of next month, Bertone could well be closing its doors for good.

Founded in 1912, Bertone is responsible for designing some of the most beautiful and iconic cars of the 20th century. The cars below are just a handful of the amazing machines the company was responsible for. Let's hope a buyer can be found.

Alfa Romeo Sprint GTA

The boxy but beautiful coupe version of Alfa Romeo's Giulia was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro for Bertone. The version we find ourselves lusting after most is the Sprint GTA. With the outer steel panels of the standard coupe replaced with aluminium, it was considerably lighter than its stablemates, and could be bought from the factory as a ready-to-race machine.

Lamborghini Miura

The low and sleek Muira is widely regarded as the car that kicked off the trend of slinging powerful engines into the middle of expensive supercars. Later versions of the Miura packed 385bhp from their mid-mounted, 4.0-litre V12s. Production ran from 1966–1973, with 764 cars built.

Lancia Stratos HF

Designed and built by Bertone, the Stratos was the first car conceived from the off as a world-class rally weapon. This approach paid off, as it dominated the World Rally Championship in the mid-70s. It's a curious thing to look at, with its aggressive wedge shape and wraparound windscreen, but it remains one of the all-time great car designs. Power comes from a mid-mounted Ferrari V6.

BMW 3200 CS

Produced from 1962-1965, the 3200 CS was the last in a long line of opulent post-war cars from BMW. The classy coupe has a slanted 'shark-nose' front end with BMW's trademark kidney grille, which set the tone for the Bavarian firm's styling for much of the second half of the 20th century. 603 3200 CSs were built, all with a front-mounted 3.2-litre V8.

Aston Martin Jet 2+2

One of Bertone's more recent efforts is this one-off shooting-brake version of the Aston Martin Rapide. Built to celebrate Aston Martin's 100th birthday, an unnamed collector bought the only example. There was talk of a limited production run, but this never happened. Which is a shame, as it's stupendously gorgeous.

Lamborghini Countach

Following on from the clean and flowing lines of the Miura was something a little more angular: the Countach. Designed by Bertone's Marcello Gandini - the same man who penned the pretty Miura - the Countach was the first Lambo to have party-trick scissor doors. These were actually born out of necessity, due to the high sills of the space frame chassis. Later versions turned the aggression up to 11 with even more vents, and a beefier spoiler at the rear, and became the supercar poster boy of the 1980s.

Iso Grifo

This car by Iso Rivolta (not a name that translates well into English...) is one of the lesser-known motors to have been penned by the Italian design house. Iso Grifos were handsomely muscular two-door coupes, which like the products of fellow niche Italian carmaker De Tomaso, housed burly American V8s in their engine bays. In the case of the Iso, those were mainly Chevrolet Corvette V8s, ranging from a 300bhp 5.4-litre to a 395bhp 7.4-litre. Iso Rivolta unfortunately went bust in 1974.