Alfa Romeo Carabo by Bertone - design pioneer

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Alfa Romeo Carabo by Bertone - design pioneer

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Created on January 12, 2023

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Bruno von Rotz

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Alfa Romeo / Stellantis

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Alfa Romeo / FCA Group / Werk

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Bertone / Alfa Romeo

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Antoine Dellenbach

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Archiv

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo (1968) - revolutionary design by Gandini with scissor doors presented at the 1968 Paris Motor Show

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - note the folding headlights

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - with scissor doors for the first time

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Bertone Carabo (1968) - Bertone Coupé on the Alfa Romeo 33 chassis - designed by Marcellon Gandini

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - Silhouette

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - classic wedge

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - with scales like a reptile

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - looks like a pangolin

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - very flat

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - front view with tailgate open

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - with scissor doors

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Bertone Carabo (1968) - the extreme design on Alfa Romeo 33 chassis at the "Cultura e Progetto" exhibition in Turin in 1978

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Lancia Stratos Stradale (1975) - Marcello Gandini's Bertone designs Lancia Stratos and Alfa Romeo Carabo side by side

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - front view

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - rear view

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - rear view with open cover

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - accompanied by a lady

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Alfa Romeo Carabo (1968) - wedge-shaped concept car based on the Alfa Romeo 33 by Bertone

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - View into the cockpit

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - Silhouette shows seating position and engine position

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - Nuccio Bertone and the bold design by his designer Gandini

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - with open scissor doors

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Alfa Romeo Carabo Bertone from 1968 - wedge-shaped mid-engined sports car

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo Bertone (1968) - comparable to a pangolin at the time

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Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo (Gandini) (1968) - Class Marcello Gandini - Concours Chantilly Arts & Elégance 2019

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Alfa Romeo Carabo (1968) - in the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo Arese

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Alfa Romeo Carabo (1968) - in the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo Arese

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Alfa Romeo Carabo Bertone (1968) - in the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese

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Alfa Romeo Carabo (1968) - in the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo Arese

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1967) - back when it was still new

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - one of the most beautiful cars in the world - the prototype can be recognized by the double headlights and the top-mounted windscreen wiper

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - Access through upward-opening doors

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - attractive rear view of the prototype

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1967) - View into the spartan cockpit

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - at an exhibition in the eighties

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - shown at a sports car exhibition

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) - at the 1968 Geneva Motor Show

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1967) - provided the technical basis for the Carabo

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The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale from 1968 rightly won the "Best of Show" prize at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2011

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2011

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2011

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Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1968) at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2011 - race-proven eight-cylinder engine with dual ignition

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Summary

Few other concept cars have had such a significant influence on car design as the Alfa Romeo Carabo by Marcello Gandini and Bertone. Unveiled in Paris in 1968, it stole the show from the equally new Ferrari Daytona, among others, and became a recognized design milestone. This report analyzes the special features of the green wedge and shows it in many pictures, some of which have hardly ever been published before.

This article contains the following chapters

Gandini's bold design
Technical basis Alfa Romeo 33
New design ideas
Divided opinions
Miracle glass?
Well-traveled study
Still spectacular today

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 "Daytona" was actually supposed to be the star of the Paris Motor Show in October 1968. But somehow a concept car from Bertone stood in its place in the sun. Alfa Romeo Carabo was the name of the shimmering green wedge that looked so different from all the other vehicles at the show. The Automobil Revue wrote in its Salon report: "In the passenger car exhibition, the special bodies are the main attraction. Dense clusters of people surround the Carabo by Bertone in particular. This avant-garde vehicle is the embodiment of youthful dreams par excellence, but is also capable of inspiring experts and designers. The eye-catching, well-balanced colors have a striking effect. When you sit in this car, you feel transported to a future era."

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