Built to commemorate 110 years of the renowned Italian automotive styling house, Bertone, and limited to just 33 examples, the GB110, designed by Andrea Mocellin and first shown in 2022, is already a highly collectible exotic car and announced the rebirth of the brand. But the new Arancio Zero finish seen here adds another dimension. It is a direct callback to founder Nuccio Bertone’s favorite hue from the 1970s, a bright orange he loved so much that he painted the ceilings of the Centro Stile in Caprie with it. That simple act turned a design studio into a bold statement about what Italian design could be: fearless, vivid, and unapologetic.
Bertone’s role in shaping that era of the automobile simply can’t be overstated. Back in the 1960s and 70s, Italy’s coachbuilders Pininfarina, Italdesign, and Zagato were hard at work rewriting the language of automotive form. But it was Marcello Gandini and Bertone that truly defined the wedge era, responsible for design icons like the Lamborghini Countach, and concept cars such as the Alfa Romeo Carabo, and the Lancia Stratos Zero (seen below), which, coincidentally, was also painted in a bright orange and displayed at the Petersen Museum a few months ago. These were the sort of cars that made everything else on the road look dated overnight.
It is that very lineage that links the GB110 to this heritage through Arancio Zero and serves as a defining bridge to a moment in time when Italy set the ball rolling for the world of automotive design for decades to come. But speaking of bold colors, ironically, this announcement from Bertone comes just days after Apple unveiled the iPhone 17 Pro in a bold Cosmic Orange. While the two aren’t even remotely connected, the coincidence highlights how color trends can resonate across industries.
Think about it: Color is often the first thing anyone notices about your car, and besides the standard palette, today, automakers operating in the high-end and luxury car space offer an extensive choice of bespoke colors and finishes, with the option to also have a color lock-out to further tie-in exclusivity. In the collector space, certain hues also end up becoming cultural markers. Think of Rosso Corsa Ferraris or Porsche’s Guards Red. For Mercedes, a shade like silver metallic ties its racing heritage to production models, and for Lamborghini, it was shades like the polarizing Verde Green that we touched on not too long ago, that divided opinion, but ultimately cemented its place in time.
Arancio Zero belongs to that same tradition. By linking the GB110 to Bertone’s rebellious 1970s design ethos, it transforms an already seven-figure collectible into something that tells a story every time you see it in your garage. It highlights an aspect often overlooked: the emotional story behind a finish, which can elevate a car’s significance well beyond its mechanical numbers. Yes, the GB110 delivers 1,100 horsepower from a 5.2-liter V10; it packs performance figures to rival most high-end exotic cars, but those details alone don’t explain why someone would fight to secure one.
So, where does that leave you? If you’re considering a hypercar that speaks louder than its spec sheet, the GB110 in Arancio Zero does offer something quantifiable: a shade with historical context, limited production numbers, and an unbroken lineage to one of Italy’s most influential design families. In a market where color is often an afterthought, this is one of the rare times when a paint choice also becomes part of the legacy you’re buying into.
Images: Bertone
