DREAM CAR CREATIVITY
Between 1953 and 1955, the Alfa Romeo Bertone B.A.T. (Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica – or Berlinetta Aerodynamics Technique) series stemmed from the partnership between Alfa Romeo and Carrozzeria Bertone. The B.A.T. is a series of concept cars which included B.A.T. 5 (1953), B.A.T. 7 (1954) and B.A.T. 9 (1955). In 1953, the B.A.T. 5 made its public debut at the Turin Motor
Show at the behest of
Nuccio Bertone, who was Carrozzeria Bertone’s owner – as well as scouter of some of the greatest car designers of all times – the likes of Giorgetto Giugiaro and Marcello Gandini. Bertone asked Franco Scaglione – one of his designers – to design a car based on the chassis of the Alfa Romeo 1900C, which would minimize the drag coefficient, while at the same time be capable of astounding audiences with a state-of-the-art design. Franco Scaglione’s talent and empirical aerodynamic studies created a revolutionary car capable of taking principles originating from aeronautics; already applied by Scaglione on the Abarth 1500 Biposto, to a whole new level. This begins from the actual bodywork, entirely hand-made and life-size by Bertone’s panel beaters, which aims to minimize the aerodynamic drag as well as the tires’ dispersions at high speed.
The absence of Alfa Romeo’s traditional triangular grille – replaced by a metal “nose” integrated into the body and a large split air inlet placed between the nose and the elongated fenders – shape the front of the vehicle in a very characteristic manner while also integrating the retractable headlights. The side of the car being elliptical, in addition to the rear fins, emphasizes the faired wheels. A large opening allows the outflow of air behind the frontwheel arch, dominated by the Bertone emblem. The passenger compartment is extremely efficient; this is thanks to its drop-shape and to the side windows being angled at 45° with respect to car’s body and to a large panoramic windscreen that perfectly integrates in with the nearly flat roof. The tail is certainly the most striking part. It sports
An extremely light car – just 1,100 kg – with a grey finished bodywork and red insets. Very rounded and curved a lot of movement, faired-in skirted wheels, drop-shaped passenger compartment and above all, the great fins on the rear fenders
a very large rear windscreen, divided into two by a slim metal sheet pillar, a concept subsequently adopted by the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. The tail also features the black and split exhaust system at the center, as well as the two “fins” that are almost as tall as the roof, each having a slit and gently curved inwards.
Thanks to these remarkable contours, B.A.T. 5 could boast a drag coefficient of 0.23, which enabled the car to reach a top speed of 200 km/h, which is 30 km/h more than the 1900 C SS having the same 100 HP engine. At that time, Carrozzeria Bertone did not have a wind tunnel, and in order to obtain the precious aerodynamic information necessary for the project; they used a widespread system that used woolen threads. These were placed onto the cars’ bodies, which were then driven at different speeds and photographed from another adjacent car in order to observe the woolen threads’ movements in the wind.
The interior, in contrast, is simple, with two sportsshaped seats and red leather door panels, light-colored car mats, a dashboard of the same color as the car’s body and a small dome on which the on-board instruments are located. The three-spoke wood rim steering wheel, the three circular instruments, the gearshift lever and the pedals are directly inherited from the Alfa Romeo 1900C SS.
A SUCCESS STORY
The Alfa Romeo Bertone B.A.T. family represented a unique example of forward-looking design engineering and advanced aerodynamics. Despite being designed around modest road chassis, the combination of design and mechanical efficiency, which bordered science fiction, was capable of leaving audiences literally breathless. Thanks to its stage presence, the vehicle enjoyed immediate success at the 1953 Turin Motor Show. On October 1st, 1953 B.A.T. 5 was sold to American importer and racer of European cars: Stanley “Wacky” Arnolt for just $ 7,650, who drove it for more than 30 years. He then sold it in the 1980s, and the new owner conducted a restoration of the car. Thirty-six years after the 1953 Turin Motor Show, the B.A.T. 5 made a public appearance at the 1989 Pebble Beach Concours d’elégance alongside the B.A.T. 7 and the B.A.T. 9. It was the very first time all three cars appeared together. The three Alfa Romeo B.A.T. concepts were recently sold at New York’s Sotheby’s for $14.8 million at an auction that was part of a Contemporary Art Evening.