Bertone ZER

The Bertone ZER: In autumn of 1994 Bertone returned to the electric car theme with a futuristic idea. He took a light chassis and an electric engine powered by 36 lead batteries and built on a long, narrow streamlined body, the result of advanced research into aerodynamics. And thus the Z.E.R. (Zero Emission Record) was born. This experimental car was entirely designed and produced by Bertone, with the aim of testing out the potential of the most advanced technology in the field of electric traction. 420 cm long and 99 cm wide, weighing 890 kg, the Bertone ZER reflected the daring spirit which had always characterised the Bertone team. On the morning of 2nd October 1994 at the S.A.S.N. track in Nardò (Lecce), the ZER set the world record for an electric vehicle in F.I.A class 2, for vehicles weighing up to 1000 kg, the equivalent of a normal medium-sized car. Its extremely low Cx of 0.11 allowed it to cover 199.882 km in an hour. Seven months later, on the same track, the Bertone ZER broke the 300 km/h barrier. All in all an astounding result, both from a technical point of view and in terms of image, reflecting the Turin designer’s true competitive spirit.