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Bertone Nivola - Mid-engined Corvette for Nuvolari

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Created on July 16, 2024

Text:

Karl Ludvigsen (Übersetzung: Paul Krüger)

Photos:

Ludvigsen Partners

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GM

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Ludvigsen Partners

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GM

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Archiv

6

Bertone Nivola (1990) - Externally, there is nothing to suggest the Corvette relationship. Marc Deschamps anticipated the distant mid-engine future

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - A huge windshield and a tiny roof characterize the top. The Nivola is wider and shorter than the technology-giving Corvette

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - Nuccio Bertone with his company's latest creation. He still knew namesake Tazio "Nivola" Nuvolari personally

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - Quick sketch from the early phase of the design

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - Illustration of the final design with roof segment removed

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - life-size clay model

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - The body is made of sheet steel to withstand the rigors of numerous transports to car shows

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - Tangle of cables during assembly. The tubular frame made of square profiles is clearly visible

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - The ZF gearbox in the rear is still easily accessible during assembly

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - The pearly yellow paint was a tribute to Tazio Nuvolari's yellow driver's jersey

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - Instead of a rear wing, the entire body formed a wedge shape to generate downforce

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - Air outlets for the engine compartment are located below the concealed rear lights. More were added after the first drive under everyday conditions

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - The gigantic windshield followed the contour of the tapering hood and reached down to the headlights

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - Air inlets in the sills below the doors: left for combustion air, right for cooling air

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - Only a narrow air intake reveals that the water cooler is located at the front

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - OZ built the alloy wheels according to a design by Marc Deschamps

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - 9 cm lower and 18 cm wider than the Corvette: the Nivola seemed to literally nestle into the road

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - The door skins could be folded down to reveal additional storage space in the doors

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - As luggage space is always scarce in mid-engined cars, the wide doors were used for additional storage space

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - The interior with turquoise leather is a child of its time. The instruments come from the Corvette, but are arranged differently

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - Sketches of the front view including the door/boot compartment

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - The final design as a 1:1 scale clay model

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - Cab Forward: the exposed tubular frame clearly shows how far the windshield protrudes forward over the dashboard

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - view-through drawing. In the rear, the DOHC V8 of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 and the ZF five-speed gearbox

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Bertone Nivola (1990) - The latest part of the Bertone evolution with Testudo, Marzal and Stratos Zero

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Chervolet Corvette ZR1 (1990) - the fastest way to drive a C4

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Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (1992) - LT5 engine

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Summary

The color and name were a tribute to an Italian national hero. But under the bodywork, the Bertone Nivola was thoroughly American. With its 5.7-liter V8 installed between the cockpit and rear axle, it anticipated what would only become a series-produced reality 30 years later. This article tells the story of the Italian mid-engined Corvette.

This article contains the following chapters

Building on the past
Technology arranged differently
Sheet steel instead of GRP
Shaping
One-off or small series?
Completion at the last moment
Not for the city center

Estimated reading time: 11min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In the fall of 1989, Nuccio Bertone began to think about which study would draw all eyes to his design studio's stand at the Geneva Motor Show the following March. His plan was to interpret an American chassis to suit European tastes - or rather Bertone's tastes. His chief designer, the Belgian Marc Deschamps, pushed for a sports car concept that broke with American tradition by placing the engine in the rear. And what an engine! Nothing less than the 380 hp 5.7-liter four-valve V8 from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1. At that time, the Bertone Group consisted of four companies. "Stile Bertone" designed production vehicles such as the Citroën XM. "Carrozzeria Bertone" produced cars such as the Opel Kadett convertible. "Tecnodesign Bertone" was an engineering firm. And "Socar I.C.S." produced glass in small series and supplied spare parts for older Bertone vehicles such as the Fiat X1/9.

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