ASI showcases the Bertone Collection at Salone Auto Torino 2026, highlighting iconic concept cars and production models that pioneered smart urban mobility.

The intersection of artistic vision and industrial utility has always been the hallmark of Italian automotive design. From September 11 to 13, 2026, this legacy takes center stage as the Automotoclub Storico Italiano (ASI) presents the Freestyle Design exhibition during the Salone Auto Torino. This event is not a traditional trade show confined to a convention center; instead, it transforms the heart of Torino—including Piazza Castello, Piazzetta Reale, and the Corte d’Onore—into a sprawling, open-air gallery accessible to the general public for free.

The philosophy behind Freestyle Design

At the core of the ASI exhibition in the Giardini dei Musei Reali is the concept of Freestyle Design. This approach represents a departure from the rigid categories of the mid-century automotive industry, seeking instead to blend the requirements of urban commuting with the desire for leisure and personal expression. The Bertone Collection, now under the stewardship of ASI, serves as a physical archive of this experimentation. The selected vehicles demonstrate how designers once envisioned the car not just as a tool for transport, but as a flexible extension of a lifestyle that prioritized smart usage in city environments and freedom during weekends.

Nautical influence and the birth of the Runabout

One of the most significant pieces on display is the Runabout, a futuristic concept car from the 1960s. The Runabout is a masterclass in cross-industry inspiration, drawing its aesthetic and structural cues from the world of nautical design. By translating the sleek, essential lines of a speedboat onto the asphalt, Bertone created a compact sports car that was fully functional and forward-looking. This vehicle did more than just attract attention; it established the stylistic vocabulary that would later define some of the most famous Italian cars in history, specifically influencing the development of the Lancia Stratos and the Fiat X1/9.

Democratizing the open-air experience

While concept cars often remain ivory-tower exercises, the Bertone influence extended deeply into mass production. The exhibition highlights the Fiat 850 Spider, a vehicle that played a pivotal role in making the dream of the open-top car accessible to the broader public. By combining an affordable price point with an evocative design, the 850 Spider transitioned the concept of leisure driving from an elite privilege to a democratic reality. This shift mirrored the broader social changes of the era, where the middle class began to view the automobile as a primary vehicle for exploration and personal freedom.

Innovating for the early supermarket era

The evolution of urban mobility is perhaps most vividly illustrated by the Fiat 128 Shopping. This unique specimen was a direct response to the emergence of the first supermarkets and the changing habits of family consumption. Bertone envisioned a second family car specifically tailored for errands, featuring a spacious interior and a practical, extractable trolley in the rear. It was an early attempt at solving the last-mile logistics of grocery shopping, blending utility with a compact footprint long before the modern obsession with urban efficiency became a corporate mandate.

From dune buggies to amphibious dreams

The 1970s brought a shift toward more adventurous and eclectic forms of mobility. The ASI collection showcases this through the Chrysler Shake and the Suzuki Go. The former represents Bertone's interpretation of the dune buggy trend, utilizing the mechanics of a Simca 1200 S to create a vehicle designed for the sand and the sun. The Suzuki Go pushed the boundaries even further, manifesting as a multipurpose two-seater capable of navigating both land and water. These vehicles underscore a period of fearless experimentation where the boundary between a car and a recreational toy was intentionally blurred.

The Salone Auto Torino 2026 creates a precise balance between the past, present, and future of the automotive world, utilizing the city's historic architecture as a backdrop for industrial evolution.

The heavyweights of the Bertone legacy

Beyond the niche experiments in smart mobility, the exhibition pays homage to the absolute icons of the house. Visitors can admire the work of Marcello Gandini, whose pen shaped some of the most aggressive and influential silhouettes of the 20th century. The presence of the Lamborghini Miura and the Lamborghini Countach, alongside the Ferrari Rainbow, reminds the international observer that Bertone's capacity for freestyle design was not limited to small urban cars, but extended to the pinnacle of supercar engineering. These machines redefined the proportions of the automotive world, introducing the wedge shape that would dominate sports car design for decades.

Global implications for the automotive business

For entrepreneurs and investors in the USA, UK, and global markets, the Bertone showcase in Torino is more than a nostalgic retrospective; it is a study in disruptive design. The current global shift toward Micro-Mobility and Electric Vehicles (EVs) mirrors the exact challenges Bertone faced in the 60s and 70s: how to make the vehicle fit the environment rather than forcing the environment to accommodate the vehicle.

In the United States, where the trend toward urban densification is clashing with a legacy of oversized SUVs, the lessons of the Fiat 128 Shopping and the Runabout are highly relevant. The move toward smart mobility solutions requires a return to this kind of freestyle thinking—where the vehicle is designed around a specific human activity (like shopping or leisure) rather than a generic category.

From a regulatory perspective, the UK and EU markets are increasingly pushing for zero-emission zones in city centers. The Bertone philosophy of compact, multipurpose, and smart-use vehicles provides a historical blueprint for the next generation of urban pods and autonomous shuttles. For the international business leader, the takeaway is clear: the most successful innovations in mobility occur when designers stop treating the car as a standalone product and start treating it as a component of a wider urban ecosystem.

FAQ

---

Sources: News, Asifed, Clubalfa ·