Design houses build their reputations on penning beautiful creations for others. Pininfarina bucked that trend when it produced its very own car, called the Battista. Now Bertone has jumped on the bandwagon to create its own car. The Bertone GB110 was created to celebrate 110 years of the styling house. It was unveiled in Monaco (where else) earlier this week. The GB110 is the first in a series of limited edition ultra high-end sports cars from Bertone. Just 33 examples of the GB110 will be built.

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Long Standing

Bertone is the oldest Italian design coachbuilder. Giovanni Bertone founded the company in 1912. After World War II Giuseppe “Nuccio” Bertone took over his father’s business. From the 1950’ onwards he succeeded in attracting talented designers like Giorgetto Giugiaro, Marcello Gandini and Franco Scaglioni. But Bertone design studio went under about ten years ago. The company has since been revitalised by Italian brothers Mauro and Jean-Franck Ricci. 

“The GB110 is an immensely powerful car,” says Jean-Franck Ricci, CEO of Bertone. “What we are looking for is a strong acceleration and low weight for a maximum of pleasure. We are building this car for customers that appreciate the history and legacy of Bertone. And for connoisseurs who love sportscars with exceptional performance. It’s not only about raw power and performance. It’s about celebrating the long Italian tradition of timeless elegant cars.”

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Stylish

“Our vision was to create a unique hypercar, a vehicle that would not only stand out for its sophisticated design but also resonate deeply with Bertone’s soul and heritage. From the very beginning, the idea was clear: this hypercar had to be a work of art first and an automobile second. The first sketches remained virtually unchanged throughout the process, demonstrating the clarity of our vision. The biggest challenge was to turn this artistic design into a street-legal hypercar, and we succeeded.”-Andrea Mocellin, design lead.

Mocellin’s handiwork is rather eye-catching, more importantly at this level is that the car will be so scarce that you are bound to stand out wherever you go. The wedge-like design draws from the company’s back catalogue, although the overall appearance is completely modern. The front end has an interesting ‘step’ in the nose that leads into a pair of slim headlamps. There is also a pronounced splitter on the lower edge of the bumper. The profile is dominated by a C-shape and duel tone recess. The dual-tone theme continues with the massive alloys.

Take a look back at some of the wedge-shaped concept cars that inspired the GB110 by clicking here.

Borrowed Base

The Bertone GB110 is not a ground-up rebuild. Bertone previously said the GB110 “is based on components from a German manufacturer “. It rides on independent double wishbones front and rear with adjustable dampers. The powerplant is a V10 that displaces 5,2 litres. In addition, it boasts a pair of turbochargers to ramp up power. As a result it produces peak power of 810 kW with 1 100 N.m of torque. A seven-speed transmission sends that power to all four wheels. Our guess is that the donor car is an Audi. Bertone says that it’s re-clad machine tips the scales at under 1,5 tons.

Bertone previously said the GB110 can sprint from 0-100 km/h in 2,79 seconds, from 0-200 in 6,79 and it’ll hit 300 km/h in 12,9 seconds after launching. The top speed is rated as 350 km/h. The most interesting thing about the powerplant is that the company says it is powered by plastic waste. 

“We believe that addressing pollution requires diverse solutions employing various technologies. Plastic waste must be treated as a valuable resource. Through our partnership with Select Fuel, we transform waste back into its original form,” said Jean-Franck Ricci.