The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
At the beginning of 1967 an Alfa Romeo initiative to create a very special concept car began to take shape, and the result was presented at the Montreal Expo the following year. The manufacturer’s aim was to relaunch its glorious marque on the lucrative overseas markets, and in order to accomplish this it moved towards the idea of a very advanced sporty coupé which would, in the words of Nuccio Bertone, satisfy “man’s greatest aspirations for a car”.
The Alfa Romeo Montreal Prototype: Nuccio Bertone was entrusted to interpret this concept, and to show the Expo visitors Alfa Romeo’s genuine commitment to come up with a car of great class, futuristic in its design but still respecting the style and taste canons of the day, all within a limited period of time. Once again, Bertone managed to come up with one of the most beautiful cars of its day, the Montreal. He created a two-seater + 2 coupé with innovative lines, featuring some highly original elements such as the radiator grille, front headlights and lateral air outlets. Two were produced, and it was the only car on show at the Canadian Expo. One of the two Alfa Romeo Montreal Prototype built for Expo 67 is displayed in the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum in Arese, Italy, while the other is in museum storage. The first production car, Tipo 105.64, was shown at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show and was quite different from the original. Since the concept car was already unofficially known as The Montreal, Alfa Romeo kept the model name in production.
Bertone was probably the most innovative and certainly the most courageous coachbuilder in the automotive history. We’ve tried to rank them, here are the 20 greatest concept cars made by Bertone. We are aware that you will not always agree with us, so let us know what are your favourite one’s in the comment section.
