Monday 23rd March 2015

Jaguar Bertone Pirana: Time For Tea?

That infamous Bertone/Telegraph sports car project pored over by Jay Leno

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The Jaguar Bertone Pirana is an odd creation even by the standards of concept cars. A project between Bertone and The Telegraph designed to help the latter sell more newspapers (!), it was built for the 1967 Earls Court show using Jaguar E-Type parts.

The last we heard of the Pirana it was owned by Ed Superfon. But here it is, in Jay Leno's Garage, up for sale once more. Jay is talked round the car and its history by Carl Steuer, described as 'caretaker' for the car who fills in a few of the gaps.

The Gandini-designed coupe has now only covered 16,000 miles and still drives reasonably well according to Jay. Though perhaps not as pretty as an E-Type it's certainly quite stylish too. Plenty more info in the vid!

See it here.

 

[mikEsprit]

Doesn't look like an Espada, that is an Espada.

[Mark-C]

mikEsprit said:

Doesn't look like an Espada, that is an Espada.

Wasn’t that also Bertone and a year or two later?

[ravon]

In the mid-seventies this car belonged to a Guildford based property developer and Tojiero Jaguar expert named Gilbert Dixon, it was he that had the automatic gearbox installed. I well remember being appaled by this bdisation of the original, however as JL found in his video, it was actually pretty good as an automatic !

[mikEsprit]

Mark-C said:

mikEsprit said:

Doesn't look like an Espada, that is an Espada.

Wasn’t that also Bertone and a year or two later?

As I watched more, you are correct.

So, to be more accurate, Espadas don't just look like a Pirana, the are Piranas. But, if you cannot plagiarize from yourself, no worries here.

[dbdb]

It isn't the only time a Jaguar concept car has ended up as something else. The Maserati Medici II started life as a Jaguar XJ concept.

[Roy C]

The car is featured in this film clip of the 1967 British Motor Show at Earls Court in London:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZNhWmr_X5k&fe...

Although paid for by the Daily Telegraph, Jaguar's PR department supported the project, allowing Bertone access to it's suppliers (Smiths Industries, Joseph Lucas & Connolly Brothers) for E-Type parts.

[loveice]

He might think this concept is better looking in terms of its proportion. I actually think the 2+2 E-Type has a better proportion.

[soad]

It’s an interesting combination between British engineering and Italian styling, and it’s even more interesting when one realises the car was unveiled before the Lamborghini Espada (another of Gandini’s works).
Given their resemblance, it can be considered a forefather of the Espada, which arrived a year later.

[sorrel]

Seems funny now, that at the '67 Motor Show both Gandini concepts that led to the Espada were shown. Side by side they must have looked freakily similar, although to my eyes the Marzal pipped the Pirana for style and the Espada took the best of both 2 years later. Great period for Bertone design in my opinion.

[dinkel]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[dinkel]

http://www.pistonheads.com/GASSING/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Pothole]