The 1950’s Alfa Romeo B.A.T. cars by Bertone (BAT 5, BAT 7, & BAT 9d). I actually got an extremely rare opportunity to see these cars in person, so all of the following photographs are mine! The Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica, or B.A.T. project began in the early 1950's when Giuseppe “Nuccio” Bertone’s carrozzeria, a design house and coachbuilder responsible for developing and constructing mostly hand-made one-off or limited production car bodies began producing this car, known as B.A.T 5. Bertone ultimately was struggling as a company facing a post-war recovery, and one-off commissions we're slowly becoming a less viable business model over time. That was until a man named Franco Scaglione, a then unknown designer, was hired in 1951. This began a journey that ultimately would lead both Bertone and Scaglione to be even further considered legends of the automotive industry. For Scaglione's first act with Bertone, the 1953 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 5, chassis no. AR1900 01396 was born. The first car was called 'B.A.T. 5' because Scaglione worked through four full-size models before creating the actual metalwork for the 5th and final car. The car impressed even the casual observers and overall delivered excitment with its unprecedented design. Speaking of the design, B.A.T. 5 and all the other B.A.T. cars are daringly different in many ways. B.A.T. 5 was designed both mathmatically & scientifically with one goal in mind: extreme aerodynamics. All three B.A.T. examples exhibit drag coefficient figures that would still land them in the top ten most aerodynamic cars on sale today. B.A.T 5 & the other two B.A.T. cars were recently sold during an @rmsothebys for a total of $14.8M for the set of three. Link in bio for the full video!
How many made? 1 of 1
Engine: 2.0L Cast Iron Inline-4 that produces 115bhp
Debut: Turin Auto Salon in May 1953
Top Speed: 115mph
0-60mph: N/A
Photo Credit: @am_media_ny
Research: @rarecarsonly