Concept cars to be auctioned off

Lancia Stratos HF Zero. Photo / Supplied

Six concept cars created by design house Bertone for Lamborghini, Lancia and Chevrolet will be auctioned next month on the orders of an Italian bankruptcy court.

Three of the cars represent milestones of Italian design and are expected to be sold for between €1 million and €1.8 million ($1.8 million to $3.3 million).

• The 1967 Lamborghini Marzal prototype, driven by Prince Rainier and Princess Grace at the start of the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix. The car, well known for its gullwing doors, was later built as the Espada.

• The Lancia Stratos HF Zero, a mid-engine car that went into production as the Lancia Stratos, which dominated the World Rally Championships in the 1970s.

Both cars were created by Italian car designer Marcello Gandini, who worked at Bertone from 1965 to 1980.

• The third milestone car is the Chevrolet Testudo, created by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The concept has a transparent one-piece windscreen and roof and was driven by Giugiaro from Turin to its debut at the 1973 Geneva motor show. It is expected to fetch between €500,000 and €800,000.

The other three concepts have less historical relevance. The Chevrolet Testudo appeared first at the 1973 Geneva show. The 1974 Lamborghini Bravo and the 1980 Lamborghini Athon are both expected to sell for between €150,000 and €220,000. Bids of between €60,000 and €100,000 have been sought for the 1978 Lancia Sibilo.

The sale comes after the Bertone Group went into a court-supervised liquidation in 2008.

Fiat bought Bertone's manufacturing plant in 2009. The factory is scheduled to resume production at the end of 2012, building sedans for Maserati.

- With agencies