Is it ciao for Italian car maker Bertone?

Legendary Italian styling house Bertone is reportedly at corporate death's door this week. The company, which hasn't shown a car since it displayed an Aston Martin-based shooting brake at last year's Geneva Motor Show, has just declared bankruptcy. Bertone, established by designer Nuccio Bertone, has a storied history and is the house behind such design classics as the Lamborghini Miuria, Lancia Stratos and the famous Alfa Romeo-based BAT aerodynamic show cars of the 1950s.

Bertone recently sold its small production plant to Fiat to try and raise some cash, and there had been rumours that a Turkish-based conglomerate was preparing to buy it out, but no saviour has yet surfaced. Apparently, the firm did manage to generate €27 million in turnover last year, and has claimed to be working on several projects for Chinese car makers, but it now faces the same fate as its one-time rivals Touring, Ghia and Michelotti.