ALFA ROMEO 8C COMPETIZIONE "PANDION" BERTONE

ALFA ROMEO
8C COMPETIZIONE "PANDION" BERTONE

VIN. #TO-S0916

- A UNIQUE SPECIMEN BUILT BY CARROZZERIA BERTONE TO MARK THE 100TH
ANNIVERSARY OF ALFA ROMEO
- EXHIBITED AT THE GENEVA AND BEIJING AUTO SHOWS AND AT PEBBLE BEACH,
PHOTOGRAPHED AND FILMED IN ACTION
- TOTALLY ORIGINAL, IT IS BASED ON THE MECHANICS OF THE 8C
COMPETIZIONE
- ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SHOW CARS OF THE PAST DECADE
- OFFERED TOGETHER WITH BERTONE MATERIAL RELATING TO IT

There is no disputing that the Pandion is one of the most beautiful show cars designed and built in the past decade, a prototype worthy of its purpose: to mark the 100th anniversary of Alfa Romeo, one of the world’s most prestigious carmakers. The company’s links with Carrozzeria Bertone form part of automotive history of the last century, with various collaborations giving rise to legends like the Giulietta Sprint and Sprint Speciale, the 105 Coupé series, which sprang from the Giulia Sprint GT, and the Montreal, as well as one-offs that have become part of our collective memory, like the Carabo, the Navajo, the BAT series and the Canguro. The Pandion, too, is a member of this family of one-offs. Based on the chassis and mechanics of the 8C Competizione, this concept car is one of the most refined Alfa Romeos of recent times, boasting a 4.7-liter V8 engine capable of generating 450 HP. A 2+2 coupé, it was designed and built at Stile Bertone under the direction and supervision of American-born designer Mike Robinson, and it made its debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Its shape, defined by very long doors that, hinged at the back, open like a jackknife and reach a height of 3.4 meters when open, was immediately well received. Many appreciated its clean and aggressive design, enriched by carefully studied stylistic features, like the rear part in darkened resin that can be illuminated to emphasize its shape, like that of a large Alfa shield. The front, echoed in Alfa Romeo production cars of subsequent years, is an ultra-modern version of the Alfa shield. The same degree of care was taken over the interior, with the central tunnel, serving as a kind of skeleton, conferring extra rigidity on the structure, while keeping it light. The seats, made with an innovative material, are soft and backlit from the inside. “The Pandion project”, recalls Mike Robinson, “was the first one assigned me when I joined Bertone, and I well remember my dismay when they told me that the deadline was the Geneva show, which was only just over four months off. Having just arrived from the Lancia style center, which had the reaction times typical of a large company, I immediately replied that it would not be possible, and was amazed at how calmly they reassured me that we had enough time. It was a real race against time, and we made it only because we had such a fantastic team. I, myself, even had to act as a fashion designer, designing the dress and boots for the model to wear at the official unveiling in Geneva.” After being shown in Geneva and Beijing, the Pandion went to the United States, where it took part in an Alfa Romeo 100th anniversary tribute at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, before being filmed driving across the Californian desert. “The Pandion runs” Robinson adds, “even though, since we had to cut the wires of some components, the engine control unit interprets some of the data it receives as errors and puts the engine in in emergency operation mode, limiting the speed to 80 kilometers per hour. On the other hand, during the filming in the Californian desert, it ran for quite some time without problems and the video of this has become a YouTube hit, viewed hundreds of thousands of times.” Once filming was complete, the Pandion embarked on a promotional tour in the Middle East, before being detained for a couple of years in a wooden transport crate at the customs depot in Genoa. Finally, it returned to the headquarters of Stile Bertone in Caprie, near Turin. It had sustained some minor damage while being transported, and this was fixed by the same team that had built the car. It is now being offered, as a single lot, together with some of the original designs, the material prepared for the press kit, and the jacket and boots worn by the model in Geneva and by one of the actresses during filming.