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Carsales Staff11 Jul 2014
NEWS

Bertone bankrupt

Italian car design house Stile Bertone declared bankrupt as debts total more than $40 million

Stile Bertone, the studio that designed iconic dream cars like the Lamborghini Miura and Fiat Dino Coupe (pictured), is expected to close its doors, having been declared bankrupt.

The Italian car design house was founded in 1912 in Turin by Giovanni Bertone. His son Nuccio Bertone took the reins in the 1950s, and after Nuccio's death in 1997 his widow Lilli Bertone headed the company.

According to reports, the famous design house accumulated debts of more than $40million (€31million) over the past few years.

Recent Stile Bertone commissions have been made by BMW and several Chinese auto-makers, including Chery and BAIC. Aston Martin tasked the company to design a wagon/shoot-brake version of the Rapide dubbed the Bertone Jet in 2013.

Ongoing clients will be moved to Bertone Design based in Milan, a separate company. Bertone Design now owns the iconic name and logo too.

Since 2007 the company had struggled to make ends meet, selling off its manufacturing facilities to Fiat in 2009 (capable of churning out 70,000 vehicles per year) followed by the sale of its concept car collection in 2011.

Stile Bertone made a statement in March 2014 that if it didn't find an investor or buyer to bail it out, it would fold. Volkswagen bought Italdesign in early 2010, and Stile Bertone was no doubt hoping a large car-maker would save the day.

No such saviour was found, and now the famous company is expected to close up shop, with assets such as land and vehicles to be sold off.

The reason for Stile Bertone's financial woes are not clear, but WardsAuto reported that "Off the record, many employees tell of horror stories and business-related disasters during their time with the firm".

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Written byCarsales Staff
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