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Cars
Broken Dreams: Bertone B.A.T. 11. Tribute to a Timeless Vision
From 1950s Alfa Romeo B.A.T. icons to a modern tribute, this is the emotional story behind one of design’s greatest trilogies.
In October 2020, during an auction of modern and contemporary art in New York where works by Picasso, Andy Warhol and Lucio Fontana were up for grabs, Sotheby’s presented a very special work of art: the three Alfa Romeo B.A.T. built by Bertone on a design by Franco Scaglione between 1953 and 1955. The offer of just under $15 million confirmed that automobiles can also be art.
Of the three cars, the last one built, B.A.T. 9, was fortuitously recovered by a young American medical student who bought it without knowing its true value. His name was Gary Kaberle and he went on to become a renowned dentist.
