All-purpose vehicle Bertone Go
07/31/2024
50 years ago, Mr. Everyman still drove a compact passenger car with typically two or four doors and a trunk at the back or front, depending on the drive system. But certainly not a "sport utility vehicle".
However, Bertone invented one with the "Go" and showed the prototype at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1972. A press release was distributed to explain this, which included the following:
"Is it a car, an off-road vehicle, a utility vehicle or what else? In front of this vehicle, this question arises automatically. "GO" is all of these things together, which is why Bertone's new development is difficult to classify. But this is one of the main tasks of the coachbuilder: developing new solutions that only appear to be a goal in themselves; in reality, these solutions very often turn out to be a valuable incentive for new creations and further developments. In all fields, research does not have a strict pattern to follow, and in Bertone's case, too, numerous prototypes that only appeared to have a goal in themselves led to practical evaluation in production series that relate to these prototypes in much the same way as an effect relates to a cause.
"GO" is the ideal solution for all off-road vehicle enthusiasts, who often fail to transport loads to their destination when the roads become mule tracks. So far, the only thing that has helped is to get into the saddle.
Compactly built and at the same time designed for larger loads, the vehicle can be used in a wide variety of ways: From shopping in the city to sporting activities in general. The main use of the car is therefore during leisure time, a social phenomenon to which increasingly select consumer goods are dedicated, the first of which is certainly the means of transportation. "
The 3.35 m long and 1.72 m wide vehicle was powered by a Suzuki 750 cc three-cylinder engine with 67 hp at 6500 rpm. The driver had five forward and five reverse gears at his disposal. The windshield could be lowered with a crank. There was also space for a motorcycle on the loading area.
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Incidentally, the Bertone (Suzuki) Go has survived and is now part of the ASI Bertone collection. It was on display at the Rétromobile in Paris in 2020, where the two color pictures were taken.
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P.S. We came across the Bertone Go again by chance and the lady attracted our attention even more than the unorthodox vehicle. That's another reason why we didn't want to withhold the picture from our readers.
