Aston Martin Bertone Jet 2+2 (2013)
By motoring writer – Daniel Matthews
Aston Martin Bertone Jet 2+2 2013
The Bertone name is famous to car enthusiasts, being responsible for some of the most iconic car designs of all time, including the Lamborghini Miura, Countach and Diablo, Lancia Stratos, Gordon-Keeble and Iso Grifo. Their relationship with Aston Martin dates back to 1953 when Harold Arnolt commissioned a small number of DB2/4 chassis to be bodied by them, in both 2+2 cabriolet and competition-type spyder forms. Their next project was based on the DB4GT platform and named the ‘Bertone Jet’. This particular car featured a steel body reminiscent of contemporary Ferraris also bodied by Bertone.
Fast forward to 2004, and at the Geneva Auto Salon, Aston Martin displayed the ‘Bertone Jet 2’. The inspiration from before was clearly present, but this new car was based on the aluminium and carbon fibre platform of a prototype V12 Vanquish, lengthened by 210 mm. In typical shooting brake style, it offered comfortable seating for four people and seemed ideal for small-scale production as it shared all the hard points with the standard production Vanquish. Unfortunately, it remained in the concept stage as a one-off.
2010 brought the introduction of the Rapide by Aston Martin, a four-door fastback saloon with a front-mounted V12 and rear-wheel drive. This seemed like the ideal platform to build another ‘Jet’ tribute, and in 2013 (again at Geneva), Aston Martin displayed the Bertone Jet 2+2. Constructed by a new department of Bertone known as ‘Bertone Officina – especially for one-off projects, fitting with the company history – it clearly followed on from the previous collaboration but was now a true ‘produced’ car. The buyer was Aston collector Barry Weiss, and he intended to put it into limited production. The Rapide drivetrain remained – a 470 bhp 5.9-litre V12 – and so did the base dimensions, so it could’ve been possible. However, plans ended with the demise of Bertone in 2014, although Aston themselves considered taking over production. This never happened, but recently we have received the Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake, of which all 99 have just sold out!
– Acknowledgment – I would like to acknowledge and thank motoring writer Daniel Matthews for this post. His life-long passion for cars and combined automotive knowledge are both reflected in his fresh and informative style of writing. Dan’s articles and internet blogs are always interesting to read and easy to absorb, that’s why I’m so grateful to him for allowing me to share some of his work on this website. You can see more of Dan’s blogs on this website (link below) – |