As legions of recent divorcés have shown, there's no better way to put your troubles behind you than with a new sports car. Such is the hope at Stile Bertone, the storied Italian design house that has suffered some recent unpleasantness, including legal wrangles within the Bertone family and a split from the company's financially insolvent manufacturing arm.
As a reassertion of its mojo, Stile Bertone created the Mantide (MAN-tee-day, which means "mantis" in Italian), built on the suitably exotic underpinnings of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. The Mantide is the work of the firm's new design director, Jason Castriota, a New York native who was most recently chief designer at Pininfarina. Castriota and his team fashioned an all-new body and interior for the car. Bertone is claiming reduced aerodynamic drag and a 220-pound decrease in weight, the latter due to carbon-fiber body panels, seats, and wheels. Although there is some talk that a handful of cars may be built, this life-size Hot Wheels car's primary purpose is to serve as a 638-hp calling card for Bertone's house of style.
Other custom creations by Jason Castriota
2008 Rolls-Royce Hyperion
2005 Maserati Birdcage 75th
2006 Ferrari P4/5