Collectors alert: One‑off Bertone Nuccio heads to auction for up to $600k

Collectors seeking a show‑stopping centrepiece can now bid on an irreplaceable slice of Italian design. The 2012 Bertone Nuccio, the only example ever built and the last car to wear the famed coachbuilder’s badge, is being offered in RM Sotheby’s “Sealed Drop” auction, which closes on 17 July. Estimates of $460,000 to $600,000 make this a comparatively attainable icon, given its one‑off status.

Bertone commissioned design chief Mike Robinson to honour the firm’s 100th anniversary with a radical homage to the 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero. The Nuccio, named after company scion Nuccio Bertone, debuted at the Geneva show in 2012, just three years before the Turin studio fell into bankruptcy.

Its dramatic wedge, panoramic windscreen, and dual‑tone grey‑and‑orange paint divide opinion, but never go unnoticed. Unlike many concepts, this car runs; beneath the angular skin lies a Ferrari F430 chassis, complete with a 4.3‑litre V8 and a six‑speed Graziano automated manual gearbox.

In Ferrari guise, the powertrain delivered 483 hp and 343 lb-ft, sprinting from 0‑60 mph in 3.6 seconds and topping out at 196 mph. Expect similar fireworks here, albeit cloaked in a body that looks more spaceship than supercar.

After early attempts to sell the prototype failed, Bertone mothballed it. The Nuccio resurfaced when the firm’s assets were auctioned in 2018; today it shows just over 18,000 miles, most accrued by the donor F430.

RM Sotheby’s is offering the car via its online “Sealed Drop” format, giving bidders anonymity as they chase a design landmark unlikely ever to appear again. For enthusiasts, this sale presents a rare chance to own not just a car, but the closing chapter of Bertone history.

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