Turtle with a View

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When Giugaro started at the Bertone studios,  this showcar based on a shortened Chevrolet Corvair Monza was one of his first projects. It was named Testudo, Latin for turtle, as in Giugaro’s view the car’s body with the forward-hinged canopy was somewhat reminiscent of a turtle’s shell. The Testudo was presented at the 1963 Geneva Motor Show, but the car also saw some road use in its early life. Giugiaro tells of one evening when he used it to pick up his new bride, Maria Teresa, from Fiat’s design studios where she worked at the time: “I came across several hundred Fiat employees who were just leaving work when I arrived and it was a shambles. It was more than twenty minutes before I could escape from the car to go and get her. I guess that the men who were so excited over the Testudo all managed to miss their trains and buses. It was rather exciting.”
The Testudo will be one of several concept cars from the Bertone studios to be offered by RM at their auction during the Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance on May 21st.

(photo: Tom Wood, Courtesy of RM)

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