The Bertone Runabout Is a Rad Retro Sports Car—With Pop-Up Headlights!

Among styling firms, wild-looking concept and production cars traditionally were the province of Pininfarina. But Bertone knew how to party, too. Now a decade removed from bankruptcy, the revived Italian brand is launching its second limited-edition vehicle in the Runabout. It’s a sports car that traces its roots to an original Bertone design from 1969, but made modern with pop-up headlights and Lotus underpinnings.

The original Runabout concept was designed for the 1969 Turin Auto Show for Autobianchi, as a mid-engine barchetta using an Autobianchi A111 sedan engine and four-speed transmission. It also had nautical influences with a wedge-shaped body, two-tone paint scheme, and a rear rollover bar with the headlights mounted to it. The design proved so successful Fiat used it as the basis for the X1/9 mid-engine sports car sold under the Fiat brand from 1972 to 1982 and as a Bertone from 1982 to 1989.

This modern version of the Bertone Runabout is more than just a concept, however, as Bertone will produce 25 units starting at the equivalent of $464,000 (€390,000). The chassis and engine are those of the Lotus Exige but are not overhauled to create the Runabout. These all-aluminum chassis are bought as virgin pieces (in other words, never used to create a car) that the Runabout body is then bonded to along with additional extruded aluminum architecture.

The supercharged 3.5-liter V-6 produces is sourced directly from Toyota, and it features a custom exhaust system and produces up to 475 hp. The Bertone Runabouts are then classified for road use with a fully unique VIN for each of the 25 examples to be produced.

While the unique headlights of the original Autobiachi Runabout don’t appear here—those are highly likely to be illegal—the modern version goes for pop-ups in the spirit of the Fiat X1/9. The Runabout can also be had as a purely open barchetta like the concept or with a targa top like the X1/9. Owners will also be able to spec their Runabout with different materials, colors, textures, and finishes.

Inside, the two-seater’s dashboard features a decking-like look with a functional compass in the center, while the gated six-speed manual shifter features exposed mechanicals.

The Toyota V-6 gets its forced induction from an Eaton/Edelbrock TVS supercharger system with an integrated charge-air cooler. Just like the now-discontinued Exige, the engine is mounted transversely, here driving 19-inch forged aluminum rear wheels. (The front wheels are are 18-inchers.) Bertone estimates the Runabout will be capable of a 4.0-second 0–60-mph time and a maximum speed of 168 mph.

Bertone didn’t announce a timeline on when the Runabout would be produced or if any of the 25 units will be imported to the US. You can see the modern Bertone Runabout at the 2026 Retromobile auto show at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles taking place January 29 to February 1. You’ll find it on display at the Ultimate Supercar Garage along side the Bertone GB110 and the original Autobiachi concept from 1969.