Italy's famed but troubled design house Bertone made a comeback at this year's edition of the Geneva Salon with a new sports car concept designed to celebrate Alfa Romeo's 100th anniversary.
Named after a species of raptors, more commonly referred to as the sea hawk, Bertone's Pandion concept is loosely based on the Alfa Romeo 8c Competizone using the same high-revving 450HP 4.7-liter V8 engine.
The Pandion, which is the first car to be produced by Mike Robinson in his new role as Design and Brand Director at Bertone, measures 4,620 mm in length, 1,971 mm in width, 1,230 mm in height and rides on a 2,850 mm long wheelbase.
By far the most impressive feature of the Pandion are its unconventional doors that follow in the tradition of Bertone's earlier works such as the 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo, the 1970 Lancia Stratos 0, the 1972 Lamborghini Countach and the 2007 Fiat Barchetta, all of which had doors that opened in an unusual manner.
In the Pandion, the doors are virtually hinged around the axis of the rear wheel and open by rotating backwards, ending up a perfect 90 degrees above the centre of the rear wheel.
When fully open, they measure more than 3.6 meters or 11.8 feet high - forget about parking in most closed areas...
According to Bertone, in the event of an accident that results in a 'roll-over', the doors automatically detach from the body so that the passengers can safely exit the car.
6 Comments:
wow!
Just because you're an Alfa Romeo, doesn't mean you are always going to look good.
wow yes, but those doors are ridiculous... nice overall shape...
Sick man evil in shape compared to the elegance of pininfarina.
looks like storm troopers
As I looked over these small pics I admit I was disappointed. But then I opened them and my eyes were taken to this and that detail and I suddenly began to smile. Understanding this as a flight of fancy concept and as an opportunity to showcase some new and patented technology [the doors], lets you appreciate it.
Unlike Pininfarina's Alfa which is a realistic take on a possibly soon to come Alfa, Bertone's is purely futuristic and stylistic.
The doors' mechanism is of course amazing and they super stylized to call your attention. The "messy look" grille mesh is great, and the motif is again repeated on the wheels. The shapes in plane fool the eye as the car is perfectly proportioned. And the front, its face is great and could be seen in a future Alfa.
Great job.
-JORGE
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