A reborn Italian design house has just unveiled a small, lightweight two-seater that looks like it was sketched from the hull of a speedboat. The Bertone Runabout draws on decades of Italian automotive heritage—Bertone designed the legendary Alfa GTV and Lamborghini Countach—but its distinctive shape came from somewhere unexpected: extensive study of modern boat design.
Chief stylist Andrea Mocellin, who spent years at Ferrari, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo before joining the revived Bertone, spent time analyzing how speedboat hulls cut through water. That influence shows in the Runabout's curves and proportions. There's even a floating compass mounted at the top of the dashboard as a nod to its nautical inspiration. "The emotion we want people to feel when they see a Runabout is surprise," Mocellin told Autocar at the launch.
Built for the road, inspired by the water
Under that slatted aluminum hood sits a 3.5-liter supercharged Toyota V6 producing 468 horsepower—serious power for a car that weighs less than a Mini. The Runabout hits 62 mph in just over four seconds and tops out near 170 mph, all fed through a six-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels. Lotus supplied the underpinnings: double wishbones, three-way adjustable dampers, and adjustable anti-roll bars give it the kind of handling that rewards drivers who actually know how to use a manual.
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Start Your News DetoxThe design itself recalls the 1970s Fiat X1/9—a super-low nose that rises toward a roll hoop at the rear, pop-up oval headlights, forged aluminum wheels, and that slatted engine cover. It's cute in the way that purposeful things often are, all function and proportion.
You can order it as a barchetta—permanently open top—or as a targa with a removable roof panel. Unless you live somewhere very dry, the targa is the practical choice. Prices start at €390,000 (around $466,000 USD), with customization options available.
Bertone itself is a story of resurrection. The legendary design house went bankrupt in 2014 after decades of shaping some of the most iconic cars ever built. The brand was revived to focus on limited-edition supercars, and the Runabout represents that vision: only 25 will be built. It's a bet that there's still an audience for cars that feel handcrafted, that reference the past while doing their own thing, and that ask drivers to actually engage with the machine.
