Autoblog

Only days before heading to bankruptcy court, Italian engineering firm and carrozzeria Bertone revealed that it was about to pull a last-minute trick out of its sleeve in an announcement later that day. But when the announcement didn't come, the industry was left wondering if, after 95 years in business, Bertone was about to slip away.

The company's chairwoman and family scion Lili Bertone, however, announced last night that her company would be sold to Gruppo Prototipo chief Domenico Reviglio. Likewise based in Turin, Gruppo Prototipo focuses on testing pre-production vehicle prototypes. It owns the famous Nardo high-speed test facility, and since the late '90s has been the sub-contractor for most of the Fiat Group's testing requirements.

The announcement came as a surprise to the Italian business community, which widely believed negotiations with business mogul Gianmario Rossignolo were near conclusion. Previous negotiations with Fiat had fallen through, and Bertone has a workforce of 1,300 to support despite the lack of contracts to sustain the company. The Italian government, meanwhile, has opted to extend the two-year financial protection it had granted Bertone for an additional two months.

[Source: Italiaspeed]

For the 1968 Brussels Motor Show, legendary design house Bertone took the wraps off of the Lamborghini Miura Roadster. The Miura, one of the earliest exotic supercars, was first unveiled at Turin in 1965 with a body designed by Nuccio Bertone, so who better than him to chop off the roof? Like other Lambo roadsters since, the Bertone Miura was really more of a targa, only while the modern-day Murcielago Roadster's roof might be a pain and a half to put up, at least it has a roof. Bertone's Miura Roadster never had one at all.

While the design was copied by many, only one authentic example was ever produced. The roadster version of the Miura never saw production, and the prototype was sold to a metal consortium as a publicity showcase. It changed hands several times since then, at one time joining the collection at the Boston Museum of Transportation. Now it's fallen into the hands of one lucky collector by the name of Adam Gordon, who recently purchased the prototype raging bull for an undisclosed sum. The New York real estate developer is undertaking a two-year restoration project to bring it back up to original spec.

You can bet Gordon paid big for this car, hailed as the rarest Lamborghini of all time, and will have spent even more by the time the restoration is complete.

[Source: Lamborghini Cars via German Car Blog]