Cars
Broken Dreams: Lamborghini Athon. Plein soleil
Bertone's bold 1980 Athon concept wowed with radical design, digital tech, and V8 power—an open-top vision for Lamborghini’s rebirth.
Nuccio Bertone was very worried about the fate of his important relationship with Lamborghini during the second half of the 70s, after Ferruccio’s departure from the company and the Emilian manufacturer on the verge of bankruptcy. The arrival of a buyer, the powerful French family Mimran, spurred him into proposing his services as a great creator of sports cars to the future Lamborghini. The year was 1980, the new management had just begun and in April, at the Turin Motor Show, an extremely innovative concept both in shape and technologies was presented. Its name was Athon.
Financed entirely by Bertone, it was built on the mechanics of the Silhouette with a transverse mid-mounted 2996cc DOHC V8 engine. The Athon is entirely uncompromising: it has no hood and adds the magnificent sound of the 260hp V8 engine to its many merits. The lines are surprising and reminiscent of the hand of Marcello Gandini who left Bertone in those months. For this reason, the car is attributed to the French designer Marc Deschamps, head designer at the Turin coachbuilder at that time.
