The Testudo prototype, developed in 1963 is one of Bertone’s most significant prototypes. A concentration of highly innovative technical and aesthetic solutions. For many designers the Testudo together with the Canguro of the following year were a basis of inspiration for a number of sports models. The choice of the mechanical unit was original. At the time the CORVAIR was the American Porsche. In fact, the engine of the Testudo is a 6-cylinder, air-cooled Boxer fitted at the rear. Curiously and singularly, Nuccio Bertone actually drove the Testudo himself from Turin to Geneva (March 1963). In those days S. Bernardo and Mont Blanc tunnels linking Italy to Switzerland had not yet been built.
