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Technology in the racing car (22): Bertone Panther - The winged cat of prey

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Created on October 31, 2022

Reading time 4min

Written by:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

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Archiv

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Archiv Gerhard Schütz

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Archiv

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Bertone Panther (1968) – zeittypisches Profil mit hoch aufragendem, verstellbarem Flügel

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Bertone Panther (1968) - grosse Pläne für den italienischen Panther - BRM-V12-Motor oder Gasturbine, Auflage 4 Stück - Genfer Autosalon 1968

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Bertone Panther (1968) - Windflügel mit hydraulischer Betätigung - Genfer Autosalon 1968

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Bertone Panther (1968) - niedriger Luftwiderstand und Stabilisierungsflosse für höhere Sicherheit - Genfer Autosalon 1968

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Bertone Panther (1968) - avantgardistische Konstruktion, die im Windkanal entwickelt wurde - Genfer Autosalon 1968

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Sbarro Tiger (1973) - hervorgegangen aus dem Bertone Panther von 1968, präsentiert am Genfer Autosalon 1973

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Bertone Panther (1968) – Modell am Turiner Autosalon 1967

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Bertone Panther (1968) – Modell am Turiner Autosalon 1967

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Bertone Panther (1968) – von vorne dem Porsche 917 nicht unähnlich

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Bertone Panther (1968) – Das Präsentationsmodell von 1967

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Sbarro Tiger (1973) – ohne Flügel und mit neuem Emblem auf der Nase

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Bertone Panther (1968) – Farbfoto aufgenommen auf einem Autosalon

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Summary

At the end of the 1960s, Italian Alfredo Belponer wanted to realize his dream of building his own endurance sports car. However, despite a promising design and prominent support, the project failed during the development phase - as did the attempted revival five years later. While the "Panther" went into circulation thousands of times as a Politoys toy, the life-size original remained a one-off. This article from the series "Technology in racing cars from 1958 to 1978" presents the ambitious but thwarted three-liter prototype and shows it in historical footage.

This article contains the following chapters

Gluing instead of welding
Large wing, small capital
The Panther is now a Tiger

Estimated reading time: 4min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The years 1958-1978 were the two most creative decades in the history of racing technology. This series portrays the most innovative, pioneering and exotic designs of Formula 1, Indy cars, sports cars and Can-Am, and at the same time traces the major lines of development that still have an impact today. The series started with Lotus, one of the most important innovation drivers of these two decades. And the series will also finish with Lotus. This time, we present the prototype of a sports car with which an Italian wanted to try his luck in endurance racing. In 1964, Italian entrepreneur Alfredo Belponer founded Scuderia Brescia Corse and took part in numerous Italian races. In 1967, the company expanded its involvement to include international sports car races (Sebring, Daytona, Reims and Le Mans) with top-class vehicles such as the Dino, Porsche 906 and Ford GT40. The third step followed in 1967: the Panther, the company's own racing car. Many had already dreamed this dream, but for some it became a nightmare.

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