For the young Giuseppe “Nuccio” Bertone, at the beginning of his career, the desire to race cars was great and inversely proportional to the money he had in his pockets. We are in 1947, the war ended only two years ago and his father’s company was a pile of debris after it had been bombed. That 33-year-old boy with very strict parents gave him a modest salary for his role as an accountant in the company. The work in his father’s factory takes up all day and the weekend is almost non-existent because he has to rebuild the company. The work in his father’s factory takes up all day and the weekend is almost non-existent because he has to rebuild the company.
One January day in 1947, a 1936 FIAT 500 “Topolino”, half crossbow, arrived at the company in the courtyard of the Corso Peschiera factory. It’s not new, but in good condition and it cost all the savings and sacrifices of a year. Then with the help of two workers the transformation begins. For the design of the bodywork he collaborates with Mario Revelli de Beaumont, company consultant, but puts a lot of his own into it. For the engine the choice fell on a 750 cc with a special “Marino” cylinder head built by the Marino Brandoli company which is also based in Corso Peschiera, near Bertone. The original engine is still present in the car!!! The dress is made of aluminium, a typical racing solution. The two collaborators, improvising as needed, panel beaters, mechanics, electricians, painters and anything else necessary, offer their work in friendship, impressed by the future driver’s determination and brilliant interpretation of a racing car. From Nuccio Bertone’s memoirs, we know that they did not demand any compensation. At the end, the result is a very original sports car with excellent performance, so much so that it can reach 135 km/h. The car was entered in the 1947 Italian Sport 750 Category Championship and from that moment its long racing career began.
In 1996 Nuccio Bertone found his little Sport again and decided to purchase it. The car is taken to Bertone, where the internal technicians take care of the (extensively documented) restoration.
The result is of an excellent level and the car is ready to participate in all the most important international competitions and elegance competitions.
We are talking about the first Bertone, the car that Nuccio Bertone built with his own hands and from that moment the legend of one of the most famous body shops in the world, creator of authentic masterpieces, began.
Omologazione ASI (Gold plate)
Original title
Original black plates
Photo book of history: 120 pages and dozens of photographs of the time
Photo book of the restoration
This is the list of races in which it participated:
Circuito di Vercelli (1 May 1947) – Nuccio Bertone – Ris. 12 OA
Circuito di Piacenza (11 May 1947) – Nuccio Bertone – Ris. 11 OA
Circuito di Asti (18 MAy 1947) – Nuccio Bertone – Ris. DNF
XIV° Mille Miglia (21-22 June 1947) – Bertone/Xausa – (Squadra Stanguellini) – Ris. DNF
Circuito di Forlì (6 July 1947) – Nuccio Bertone – Ris. 5° OA
Aosta – Gran San Bernardo (10 August 1947) Nuccio Bertone – Ris. 2° Cat. Sport 750cc
Circuito di Novara (31 August 1947) Nuccio Bertone – Ris. 5° Cat. Sport 750 cc
Final result: 4th Overall Italian Sports Car Drivers’ Championship up to 750 cc
Nuccio Bertone sells the car to the driver Carlino Francesconi, who races:
Circuito del Lido (14 September 1947) – Francesconi .- Ris. 6° Cat. Sport 750 cc
Circuito di Modena (29 September 1947) – Francesconi – Ris. 13° Cat. Sport 750 cc
XV° Mille Miglia (2 May 1948) – Francesconi/Chinellato – Ris. 46° OA – 2° Cat. Sport 750 cc
Giro dell’ Umbria (29 June 1948) – Francesconi – Ris. 2°Cat. Sport 750 cc
Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti (11 July 1948) Francesconi/Chinellato – Ris. 43° OA
XVI° Mille Miglia (24 Aprl 1949) Francesconi/Chinellato – Ris. 133° OA 12° – Cat. Sport 750 cc
In 1950 it was sold to the driver Gino Zordan, who raced:
XVII° Mille Miglia (23 April 1950) Zordan/Bortolon – Ris. 108° OA 12° – Cat. Sport 750 cc
Coppa della Toscana (4 June 1950) Zordan/Zordan – Ris. DNF
Coppa delle Dolomiti (16 July 1950) Zordan/Zordan – Ris. DNF
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