250 GT Bertone

The 1962 Ferrari was commissioned to a very young Giorgetto Giugiaro, then 24 and in his first assignments after his youthful experience at Fiat's Centro Stile, who created what would become the personal car of Bertone, heir to the Turin-based coachbuilder of the same name. The model followed an earlier version of the 250 GT also made by Nuccio Bertone in 1960 for a Genoese entrepreneur.

The Berlinetta Speciale is based on a 250GT SWB, which like many other Ferraris of the time lent itself to interpretations made by the most fashionable coachbuilders: the customer bought a car and the coachbuilder thought about modifying the exterior, transforming it from a car like any other into a unique jewel.

Inspired by Ferrari's world-championship-winning Grand Prix car, the 156 F1, as well as the 330 TRI LM and 246 SP sports racing cars, Bertone and Giugiaro twisted the outline of the 250GT SWB and designed an arrow-shaped nose, inspired by the "nose" of a shark, which harked back to Ferrari racing cars and added a hint of liveliness to a line that appeared elegant and very clean, especially in the front area: the headlights are recessed in the grille and no longer separated as on the 250GT SWB, which instead has a soft rear end compared to the more "dry" rear end of the Berlinetta Speciale.

Consistent with the sharknose theme, the bodywork featured several competition-inspired cues, including a Plexiglas bug deflector, a wide hood scoop, drilled rocker trim, and a small trail of louvers following the line created by the rear quarter windows. As in the standard design, the Bertone 250 SWB had extractor vents on the front and rear fenders. While Pinin Farina’s vents were purely functional vertically oriented slashes, Bertone’s were horizontally oriented, oval shaped, and trimmed with decorative slats. Viewed from any angle, the sharknose 250 SWB was an absolutely gorgeous automobile, with voluptuous forms, beautiful flowing lines, and compact, aggressive proportions.

Nuccio Bertone was obviously very proud of his Berlinetta Speciale, and he introduced it at the prestigious Geneva Auto Show on March 1962, where it was greatly admired.