Re: "Berone De Luxe"

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@domain.elided>]

In AD8-0378 Andrew Watry mentions "In my Giulia Sprint GT parts catalog, in
the body section there is listed part 105.36.49.000.02, described as a
complete body for a "Bertone De Luxe" model.  Besides the amazing prospect of
once having been able to order a complete GTV body new,  I've never heard of a
Bertone De Luxe. If I remember, the catalog list LHD and RHD versions. Anyone
know what this was?"

D'Amico & Tabucchi say (p.546-547) "Bertone also prepared a Lusso version
upholstered in real leather in black, dark brown, beige, red and grey." ("La
Carrozzeria Bertone allesti la versione lusso contraddistinta dalla selleria
in pelle nei colore nero, testa di moro, beige, rosso e grigio.") In his parts
catalog Andrew will find on pages 537 and later the leather seats for the
Bertone De Luxe body in the five colors for the Giulia Sprint GT De Luxe but
in two colors only (dark brown and red) for the Giulia Sprint GT Veloce De
Luxe. There were also, for both cars, artificial leather upholsteries for the
USA, the standard non-US cars having more cloth and/or more mixed colors in
the upholsteries, as the earlier Sprints had done.

As far as I know there were no other distinctions on the De Luxe bodies. Also
as far as I know the distinction, but not the name, carried into the 1750 and
2000 GT Veloces, both of which could be had with leather interiors outside the
USA. I have a black leather interior in a Euro 2000 project car, and it was
not just a substitution of materials, the detailing of the seats was far more
posh.

The listing of complete bodies applied to even more mouth-watering choices
such as the Sprint Zagato, but I have never been able to find the whole-body
part number (and consequently the price) in any of the published lists of
recommended spare parts prices.

Major replacements in cases of accidental damage were not unknown in past
motoring; I remember reading an account in The Autocar of continental vacation
in an MG Saloon which, damaged in an accident in Switzerland, had a new
chassis frame installed by a dealer there, and when I lived in Kansas City one
of the locals had a new frame and body air-freighted in for his Porsche 550. I
also understand that it was routine for the works rally Minis to get new hulls
installed between events.

Cheers

John H.

Raleigh, N.C.

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