One of Italy’s most iconic design houses, Bertone, is facing a bleak future following news that has confirmed the Italian design house penned exotics such as the Lamborghini Miura (above), has officially entered bankruptcy proceedings. It was told that it needs to find a buyer by the end of April before the Italian court will end the legacy of Bertone.
“The problem is many debts and very high costs. At the moment everything is blocked.” said a Bertone spokesperson.
Bertone began its business as a coachbuilder in 1912 and eventually moved into designing cars, with cars such as the Lancia Stratos, Lamborghini Countach and Diablo, Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint, BMW 3200 CS and many more are among some of Bertone’s finest designs. In recent years things have been on a downward spiral for Bertone, where in December the firm went under administration. Most of the 200 workforce had been laid-off for over a month.
However, all hope is not lost as Bertone’s legendary status in automotive design has attracted suitors to save the day, ranging from a Turkish firm to some undisclosed Italian interest. This is not the first time the firm has faced such a fate as it escaped bankruptcy in 2007 and 2008, and again in 2011. Hopefully, there will be positive news in the coming weeks.
[Source: Telegraph]
