Exactly 55 years after the original car was revealed at the Turin Motor Show, Bertone has announced that its pretty Runabout concept car will be reborn as a modern vehicle destined for production in 2026.
While the original was branded as an Autobianchi, the new car is all-Bertone. The brand itself is in the process of its own rebirth following a financial collapse in 2013 and nearly a decade of the name being passed around before ending up in the hands of current owners Jean-Franck and Mauro Ricci.
In fact it was during that period of difficulty that the first Runabout managed to reassert itself. The car, designed by Marcello Gandini at Bertone to resemble a racing boat, was one of the smallest and least-powerful vehicles ever to flow from the studio and while it never made it beyond the concept car stage it did serve as an inspiration for the FIAT X1/9 and the Lancia Stratos.
Very loosely based on the Autobianchi A112, itself a reworked FIAT 128 platform and still in development at the time, the Runabout sported a 55hp, 1.1-liter straight four mounted behind the driver. It was part of a collection of 79 cars Bertone sold off due to the financial strife.
Automotoclub Storico Italiano in Turin was the eventual owner, and the Runabout was entered for the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. There it was selected, by Kazunori Yamauchi, as the winner of the special Gran Turismo Trophy — entitling the car to a digital recreation for a future appearance in Gran Turismo.
Bertone has designed the new Runabout to be as close an homage as possible with one or two necessary changes. For starters, that flying bridge roll hoop with the light-pod nacelles has had to go — having your headlights behind you is, after all, a terrible idea — but the good news is that they’ve been replaced with pop-ups!
Two body styles will be made available, with the Barchetta sporting a cut-down cockpit like the A112 and a Targa which is equipped with a windscreen and removable roof. Unlike the original, which required something of a Dukes of Hazzard entry procedure, the new Runabout will have doors in both styles.
There’s also a slightly more conventional look to the proportions too, compared to the cab-backward original. That might be necessitated by the considerably larger and more powerful engine that sits behind the driver again.
Bertone hasn’t gone into any great detail, but the upshot is that it’s a V6 of unknown size, aspiration, or origin producing around 500hp or nine times what the original car could manage. We’re not actually sure what platform Bertone will build the Runabout on, but the proportions and engine (if tweaked a bit) appear quite Lotus Emira-like.
It’s planned to be a “limited” production model — with no definition of “limited” given — to hit the roads in 2026. Should you want one, prices look set to start at a cool $380,000…
See more articles on Bertone and Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
