Bertone Logo PNG
The Bertone logo is memorable, just like the brand’s designers’ work. The emblem encodes creativity, family talents, love for the motherland, and cars. The sign shows the chain of generations and continuous forward movement.
Bertone began in November 1912, when 28-year-old Giovanni Bertone opened a small workshop in Turin to build and repair horse-drawn carriages. At first, only three people worked there. Giovanni had previously worked on carriage wheels at Diatto, and his metalworking skills gave the shop a reputation before cars fully replaced horses in city traffic.
Giovanni’s friendship with Vincenzo Lancia and early contracts from Fiat led to the move into automobile bodies. In 1921, Bertone built its first original body on an SPA 9000 chassis. In 1934, the Fiat Ardita Superaerodinamica appeared at the Milan Motor Show with the “B” emblem that would become linked to the brand. That year, Giovanni’s 20-year-old son Giuseppe, known as Nuccio, joined the company.
After World War II, Nuccio took over a business with an old working model and few clients. He rebuilt Bertone around strong design talent, starting in 1952 with Franco Scaglione. Scaglione’s MG TD bodies led to a 200-car order, and then to the Alfa Romeo BAT concepts of 1953, 1954, and 1955. Created for Alfa Romeo to study aerodynamics, the BAT cars gave Bertone international attention alongside Pininfarina.
The 1954 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint turned that attention into production, with 11,000 cars built in Grugliasco over 11 years. By 1960, Bertone had 2,000 employees and had produced 31,000 cars in total. Giorgetto Giugiaro joined in 1959 and designed the Alfa Romeo Giulia GT and Chevrolet Corvair Testudo. After him came Marcello Gandini, whose work included the Lamborghini Miura, Lamborghini Countach, Lancia Stratos Zero, Fiat X1/9, and Volvo 780. Nuccio died in 1997; Bertone went bankrupt in 2014 and was revived in 2022 by Mauro and Jean-Franck Ricci.
Meaning and History
The brand’s logo is rich and informative, given the group’s extensive activities. Thoughtful images, a beautiful layout, and cryptic messages make the emblem a telling example.
What is Bertone?
It is an Italian automobile design and manufacturing company. Giovanni Bertone founded the company, with a rich history of creating stylish, cutting-edge car models for automakers such as Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Fiat. The company is known for its expertise in automotive styling, engineering, and coachbuilding. Some of its most famous models include the Lamborghini Miura, Lancia Stratos, and Alfa Romeo’s BAT series. Despite financial difficulties and ownership changes over the years, the brand remains a respected name in the automotive industry.
1912 – 1998
From 1912 to 1998, Bertone established itself as a manufacturer known for high-quality, uniquely styled cars. The company’s logo, a golden antique symbol on the car hood, epitomized elegance and highlighted the exclusivity of its customized vehicles. This symbol represented the rarity and elite status associated with Bertone vehicles.
For the logo’s main design element, Nuccio Bertone chose the lowercase letter “b,” styled to resemble a musical note. This choice reflected the founder’s surname, Nuccio Bertone, and his passion for music, especially his early years playing the piano.
The musical note in the logo symbolizes creativity and harmony, central to Bertone’s philosophy. The note emphasizes that each car the company produced could be compared to a work of art, like a beautiful melody composed by a talented musician. Bertone cars embody technical perfection and artistry, making them captivating in motion.
1998 – 2010
The Bertone logo, updated in memory of Nuccio Bertone after his 1997 passing, pays tribute to his legacy and reflects the brand’s evolution into the modern era. The metallic sheen in the logo’s gradient creates depth and volume, making the musical note appear to come to life, lifted from the page into a three-dimensional form. This design element highlights the innovative approach and sophistication for which Nuccio Bertone was renowned, giving each detail a unique visual impact.
The musical note symbol, inspired by Bertone’s love of music and his piano playing, is crafted from metal and tied to his surname. This thoughtful design choice is a metaphor: just as music creates a unique atmosphere, Bertone cars embody style and beauty. The logo update honors Nuccio Bertone’s name and emphasizes that his innovation and creativity will continue to inspire future generations.
The gleaming Bertone emblem combines strength, beauty, and the ability to transform ordinary technical solutions into true works of art. It symbolizes Bertone’s philosophy that each car should reflect beauty and innovation. The logo conveys, “The master is gone, but his creations will live on through the ages,” highlighting the immortality and visionary approach that Nuccio Bertone brought to the world of automobile design. This thought underscores the continuity and enduring legacy of the great designer’s contribution to the art of carmaking.
2010 – 2014
The center of the visual identity features a large symbol resembling a solid sign or note. Below it, the brand name is underlined by a wide, three-segment colored line: green, white, and red. The founding year appears at the very bottom in thin lettering.
The main part of the composition is metal, indicating the durability and materials used in the car bodies the manufacturers worked on, creating a distinct style.
The company’s name was given by the founder, Giovanni Bertone, who started with carriages. At the heart of the logo is the first letter of the surname, b. Like all the company’s products, the symbol is stylized but rendered in lowercase.
Multi-colored underlining pays tribute to the country’s founding colors, green, white, and red, in miniature, repeating the stripes of the Italian flag.
The two multi-colored parts represent the company’s two divisions, car production and design, which father and son handled. The first, green, represents the father, and the red represents Nuccio Bertone, who joined the group after World War II and gradually took the lead. His last strip, the designer’s death, led to the company’s bankruptcy in 2014.
The chain of connected segments is like a relay race from one generation to the next, and the inextricable connection among all family members is evident.
The sign contains an encrypted message: a note at the top of the image and the name’s syllables underlined in color, nota bene (pay attention).
Font and Colors
The logo uses Italy’s national colors and metallic gray for the main parts. Gray is a shade of blank, raw metal bases that the brand’s designers turned into a masterpiece. Metal is a symbol of strength.
The lettering font resembles Copperplate New Black Extended but adds a gradient and a black stroke for style