prototypes
What’s a prototype?
1951 How it all began
1952 Corvette EX-122
1954 Corvette Corvair Motorama showcar
1954 Corvette Hardtop Motorama Showcar
1954 Corvette Nomad Motorama Showcar
1955 Corvette Biscayne Show Car
1956 Harlow Curtis SR-2 Lookalike
1956 Corvette Impala Show Car
1956 Corvette SR-2 Sebring Racer
1952 EX-122 Concept Car
1957 Q Corvette
1957 Corvette SS Show Car
1957 Corvette SS XP-64
1958 XP-700
1959 Stingray Racer XP-87
1959 Corvette Stingray
1961 Corvette Mako Shark XP-755
1962 C2 Prototype XP-720
1962 Four Seat Stingray Corvette XP-720 2+2
1963 Corvette Rondine Pininfarina Coupe
1963 Corvette Grand Sport
1963 Wedge Corvette Split Windshield
1964 World’s Fair Styling Study
1964 Clay model for '66 update
1964 Grand Sport GS-II(b)
1964 CERV II
1964 Pontiac Banshee XP-833
1964 Corvette XP-819 Rear Engine
1965 Corvette Mako Shark XP-830
1966 Mid Engine Styling Proposal
1967 Astro I
1968 Corvette Astro-Vette
1968 Astro II-XP-880 mid engine
1969 Astro III
1969 Manta Ray
1969 Mid Engine XP-882
1970 Scirocco Showcar
1970 Corvette XP-882
1973 Corvette 2 rotor XP-897-GT
1973 Reynolds XP-895
1973 Corvette 4 rotor XP-882
Aerovette
1973 Corvette XP-898
1974 Mulsanne Showcar
1976 Corvette XP-882
1979 Turbo Corvette
1978 Corvette Astro-Vette
1980 Turbo Corvette
1982 4th Generation Concepts
1984 Bertone Ramarro
1985 Corvette Indy
1986 GTP Corvette
1987 Corvette Geneve
1989 Corvette DR-1
1989 Corvette ZR-2
1990 Corvette Conan ZR-12 V12
1990 CERV III
1990 Bertone Nivola
1991 ZR-1 Snake Skinner
1992 Stingray III
2001 Corvette Tiger Shark
2003 Corvette Italdesign Moray
2009 Sideswipe

1990 Bertone Nivola


The Nivola may be considered Bertone’s homage to the most fascinating American sports car: the Chevrolet Corvette. The sophisticated mechanical unit of the ZR-1 was interpreted by Bertone in a European key. Bertone designed a special chassis to make a sporty "boat" with a mid engine. This mechanical layout made it possible to exploit all the power of the engine when accelerating and warrant perfect roadholding on bends.

The name, Nivola, is after the famous driver, Tazio Nuvolari, nicknamed "Nivola", much admired by Bertone, who usually drove his cars dressed in yellow.

Put on show at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show, the prototype was built around the LT-5 engine of the ZR-1. The impressive 381 Hp engine was moved back behind the cockpit and teamed with a new ZF gearbox, thus achieving a balanced distribution of weight (40% on the front axle and 60% on the rear axle). This highly sporty model has a central engine with an original structure designed around it. The body of the Nivola came into being at the same time as the chassis, and the two components are closely integrated. The result is a two-seater coupé which can be transformed into a spider with the removal of the slender roof. There are some really original touches, like the seats without cushioning (driver and passenger sit directly on the base of the vehicle), and the doors which conceal two ample baggage compartments. The hydraulic-pneumatic suspensions allow for a vertical range of movement of 6 cm respect to the ground. All in all another ambitious project from the artistic and technological powerhouse of the Bertone Style Centre.







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