The Bertone Mantide is back! Just over 10 years after its initial unveiling, the wild concept from the legendary Italian design house has popped up for sale in the US.
If you’ve come across the Mantide before, either on the internet or in the real world, it’s unlikely that you’ll have forgotten it. For all those who had never set eyes on it before today, though, here’s some background…
The Mantide (pronounced Man-ti-deh rather than Man-tide) was styled by Bertone’s then design boss Jason Castriota, and was officially unveiled at the 2009 Shanghai motor show. Castriota had previously penned cars such as the Ferrari 599, the Maserati GranTurismo and the stunning Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina. Fair to say his CV is pretty impressive.
The Mantide divided opinion, though. Some loved it and appreciated the reference to the Alfa Romeo BAT concepts of the 1950s, others couldn’t get it out of their sight quick enough. Underneath, it was based on the C6 Corvette ZR1, which meant a 6.2-litre supercharged V8 chucking out 638bhp and 819nm of torque through a six-speed manual gearbox.
Bertone’s carbon fibre body also meant the Mantide was light. 100kg lighter than the Corvette, in fact. Whereas the ZR1 maxed out at 330kph and took 3.5 seconds to reach 60mph, the Mantide managed the sprint in 3.2 seconds and topped out at 351kph. Plus, the Mantide actually produced 30 per cent more downforce than its donor car.
We just have to say a quick fair play to the current owner too – this may be a one-off (Bertone wanted to make 10 but never did) but it’s covered over 16,000 kilometres. Not a bad effort that. The current owner also commissioned the sellers, Autosport Designs in Long Island, to change the Mantide’s colour from the original red to this pearl white.
Speaking of sellers, let’s get to the price. It’s $595,000 (approx. RM2.49 million).
Got your breath back yet? Look at it this way – in 2010 the Mantide won 1st place in the supercar class at The Quail, so owning it is essentially your ticket into the world of exclusive car shows and swanky concours events. Toothbrush at the ready though – that front grille doesn’t look easy to clean.
Images: Autosport Designs (check out the stuff in the background too - oooft)
