BERTONE'S RUNABOUT MAKES PRODUCTION AFTER 56 YEARS

Iconic concept reborn as Exige-bodied sports car with 397bhp per tonne

- STEPHEN DOBIE

The Bertone Runabout concept, which found fame in the 1960s with its radical wedge-shaped design, has finally reached production more than five decades after it was shown as a one-off.

The 1969 Marcello Gandini-penned Runabout combined a roofless and doorless body with a 1.1-litre Autobianchi powertrain. Its outlandish design went on to influence Fiat's X1/9 sports car of 1972.

This modern, £400,000 followup shares the same philosophy but is a far more enticing driving proposition, thanks to it sitting on a box-fresh Exige (wearing a new VIN) and drawing power from the Lotus's supercharged, Toyota-sourced 3.5-litre V6 – but both further enhanced.