Investigation: What The Heck Is The Bertone Mantide?

1024px-Stile_Bertone_Mantide“Art” is a word that has a special designation when it comes to a car’s creation. It’s fair to say that when taking into account legendary designers like Larry Shinoda, David McLellan, and Tom Peters, the Chevrolet Corvette has had a great deal of high-minded appreciation for the nameplate’s looks and style. But every once in a while, it’s quite intriguing to see what sorts of cars can come from an outside perspective.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABertone, the renowned Italian design firm that started in 1912, was one of the first coachbuilding businesses in the world to notice the emerging trends of motor vehicles. Alongside other names like Pininfarina and Zagato, Bertone was able to cultivate notoriety and respect among automakers as a prime destination for new ideas on either full-production or prototype cars.

Over the course of over one hundred years, Bertone’s interpretations of automotive art have given the world eye candy that shattered expectations and set trends from Alfa Romeos to Citroens to Volvos. General Motors went to Bertone on a few occasions to see what the Italians could cook up, and received such notable returns as the Pontiac Fiero, the Ramarro concept, and this: the Mantide.

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Photo credit: Autoblog

The year was 2009, and Chevrolet had just released the Corvette ZR1. Supercharged to 638 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque, it was the most powerful production Vette ever made by GM, and a testament to the demand shown by thrust-hungry enthusiasts for “more, more, more.” It could go from 0-60 miles per hour in 3.8 seconds and run at a top speed of 205 miles per hour and, needless to say, had everyone in the world excited to try one out for themselves.

But what could be done to take the ZR1 even further in terms of jaw-dropping-ness? That became the puzzle for Jason Castriota, who left his job at Pininfarina to move to Bertone and exercise his creative license a little more. The Mantide, short for “mantide religiosa” or “praying mantis” in English, was conceptualized as a one-off exclusive that would make its debut at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show.

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The already lightweight nature of the ZR1 was amplified with carbon fiber used in the body panels, interior trim, seats, and even the wheels. It was also given an extra dash of aerodynamic grace in the form of the low-slug nose, fighter plane-style teardrop canopy, and butterfly doors. Attention was also paid to the Mantide’s racing capabilities by including an FIA-regulation triangulated roll cage and four-point racing harnesses.

7What this resulted in was a quasi-Corvette that performed even better. Testing showed the Mantide could reach 217 miles per hour, and achieve 0-60 miles per hour in as little as 3.2 seconds. Bertone gave the supercar its deserved day in the spotlight with a marketing campaign called “Inside Project M,” producing viral videos in the months leading up to the worldwide premiere, and potential buyers clamored over each other to be one of the lucky few to receive the $2,000,000 vehicle.

Five years on, the Mantide hasn’t aged a day. It looks as timeless as ever, and will continue to wow viewers no matter where it ends up. We should be so lucky as to even see one of them in person, as only ten were ever produced; a supercar if ever there was one.

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About the author

David Chick

David Chick comes to us ready for adventure. With passions that span clean and fast Corvettes all the way to down and dirty off-road vehicles (just ask him about his dream Jurassic Park Explorer), David's eclectic tastes lend well to his multiple automotive writing passions.
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