Hot on the heels of a first glimpse of Pininfarina's forthcoming Geneva-bound Alfa Romeo concept spider, Stile Bertone has just presented its own sketch of the new Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione-based concept coupé it will show off for the first time in the halls of the Swiss Palexpo. Bertone's most recent production coupé project for Alfa Romeo was the pretty GT Coupé, a car also spawned the GT Cabrio (above) concept; however that stylish version was never given the green light for production.

Hot on the heels of a first glimpse of Pininfarina's forthcoming Geneva-bound Alfa Romeo concept spider, Stile Bertone has just presented its own sketch of the new Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione-based concept coupé it will show off for the first time in the halls of the Swiss Palexpo.

Leading Italian design houses Pininfarina and Stile Bertone, along with Giorgetto Giugiaro, are all showing an Alfa Romeo-based concept car on the occasion of the Geneva Motor Show to tie in with Alfa Romeo's centenary. The former two will present a spider and coupé respectively, both based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione sports car, while the latter will unveil a berlina concept based on the new C-segment Giulietta which will also debut in Geneva.

For Bertone this will be the second project it has carried out focused on the underpinnings and mechanicals of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione sports car, as two years ago it created the B.A.T. 11 concept, a modern-day continuation of the historically-admired Alfa Romeo-themed B.A.T. concept cars. That car was in fact born at the low point of Bertone's fortunes when it was unable to afford a stand after more than half a century of unbroken appearances at the Swiss motor show and instead the distinctive B.A.T. 11 was unveiled at the AutoDeignNight which took place during the show in downtown Geneva. Stile Bertone, which was founded in 1972 by Nuccio Bertone and is based in Caprie, just a few kilometres from Turin heading into the Susa Valley, was then split away from the rump of the Gruppo Bertone business which was at the time collapsing under the loss of all its business by the contract manufacturing division, and the design arm was temporarily put into the hands of Marie-Jeanette Bertone.

However Lilli Bertone, Nuccio's widow, is now firmly back in charge of Stile Bertone having fought hard over the last two years to save the family business and she has come out on top of a bitter feud with her two daughters, Marie-Jeanne and Barbara. With the contract manufacturing facilities at Grugliasco having now been sold off by the administrators to the Fiat Group, Stile Bertone, with its long and fabulous history, is the key surviving element of the almost century old Italian design and engineering house. "Back to Geneva with a world première," says Lilli proudly, a lady who has come a long way since Bertone last showed its wares in Geneva in 2007. The new Alfa Romeo GT concept by Bertone follows on from the design house's last work for Alfa Romeo, the pretty GT Coupé, which is still in production, albeit in small numbers. That project also spawned the Bertone-designed GT Cabrio, but that stylish version was never given the green light for production.

The new concept car is the first work from the pen of Stile Bertone's new Design and Style Director Mike Robinson. "After the sale to Fiat Auto of the production facilities in Grugliasco, ensuring the employment of all employees, we have regained full possession of the brand that was developed by Nuccio in person," says Lilli. "We're back, indeed we are on track to launch our centennial with a completely new management team and be a leading services company that is rapidly returning to its historic role as a trend setter worldwide. These are not just words," she adds, "as evidenced by the car [to be] presented in Geneva, a workshop for technology and style that expresses these ideas."