A Mid-Engined Nod to the Past, with a V6 and 460 bhp
Pop-up headlights, once the crowning jewel of cool ‘80s and ‘90s sports cars, have been largely consigned to history due to pedestrian safety regulations and, one assumes, a general lack of enthusiasm from accountants. Yet, against all odds, Bertone is bringing them back with the new Runabout, an unapologetically retro-inspired mid-engine sports car with modern engineering, a proper V6, and styling that suggests someone in Bertone’s design department has a deep, personal love for the 1970s. Good for them.
An Old-School Recipe, Executed in a Limited Batch
The Runabout is not a mass-market machine. Only 25 units will be built, and given the combination of pop-up headlights and modern crash regulations, one imagines most of them won’t be sold in places particularly enthusiastic about impact protection laws.
As for the car itself, the details are intriguing. A mid-mounted V6, producing 460 bhp and 520 Nm of torque, is tasked with propelling a car that should be relatively light, assuming Bertone hasn’t gone mad with unnecessary electronics. The powertrain specifics are still under wraps, but it’s safe to assume it will be an entirely petrol-powered affair—no hybrid nonsense, no electric motors sneaking in to add unwanted complexity. Just good, old-fashioned internal combustion, the way it should be.
Barchetta or Targa? Take Your Pick.
Buyers will have two body styles to choose from: a Barchetta, which is essentially an open-top roadster that assumes you enjoy the wind in your face, and a Targa, which gives you the option of a slightly more enclosed experience with a removable hardtop. Regardless of configuration, the styling remains a major talking point. The Runabout features a dramatic wedge profile, a single-piece DRL bar at the front, and a set of circular taillights that look like they’ve been borrowed from a ‘70s concept car. This is a good thing.
As for colours, Bertone will offer three carefully curated choices: Rame Antico (a copper-like finish), Azzurro Mediterraneo (a rich blue), and Bianco Perla (a pearlescent ivory). No garish options, no questionable mattes—just the sort of elegant palette you’d expect from an Italian design house with a history of making cars look rather lovely.
The Bertone Classic Collection: A New Chapter
The Runabout is intended to kickstart Bertone’s Classic Collection, a series of bespoke vehicles that lean into neo-retro design cues while (hopefully) retaining some level of modern usability. Whether this turns into a long-term thing or simply becomes an expensive exercise in nostalgia remains to be seen, but for now, it’s hard not to appreciate what Bertone is doing.
The price? €350,000, or about ₹3.2 crore, assuming currency fluctuations don’t ruin everything. That’s a lot, but given that it’s a limited-run, hand-built machine with pop-up headlights and a proper engine, the target audience probably isn’t fussed about trivialities like price tags.
