The Fiat Ritmo Bertone Supercabrio sits at one of the more obscure intersections of 1980s Italian motoring: a fully open-top body — no B-pillar, no roll-bar — hand-finished at Bertone's Grugliasco coachworks on the mechanicals of the Ritmo II 100S. MITICA has reproduced the 1986 Palinuro special series in a 1:18 resin model that captures a car most collectors have never seen in the metal. The two-tone green metallic finish is offered here as a colourway, produced for a single retailer and not replicated elsewhere.
The Ritmo Bertone Supercabrio: Grugliasco Coachwork on a Production Platform
Bertone first showed the Ritmo Cabriolet at the 1982 Geneva Motor Show, but the Supercabrio took the concept further: the B-pillar was deleted entirely, creating a pure open-top structure. The bodywork was hand-finished at Bertone's Grugliasco plant in Turin. Underneath sat the Ritmo II 100S drivetrain — a 1,498 cc SOHC inline-four producing approximately 105 bhp, paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The car's overall length is 3,970 mm, width 1,660 mm, and wheelbase 2,448 mm.
The Palinuro Edition: Geography as a Sales Argument
In the mid-1980s, Fiat and Bertone named a small series of Supercabrio variants after prestigious Italian leisure destinations, and Palinuro — a headland on the Cilento coast of Campania — gave its name to this two-tone green metallic series. These cars were conceived as luxury open-air touring companions for wealthy buyers, delivered with matching interior trim. The Palinuro designation was one of several geographically-referenced limited series that distinguished the Supercabrio from standard Ritmo Cabriolet production, underscoring the car's positioning well above the mainstream hatchback range.
MITICA: Italian Resin Craftsmanship at 1:18
MITICA is an Italian specialist known for reproducing rare and low-volume Italian road cars in 1:18 scale with resin construction. Resin allows a fidelity to subtle body-colour gradations and surface contours that die-cast tooling at this scale rarely achieves, which matters particularly for a two-tone metallic finish like the Palinuro's. The model length is calculated at 220.6 mm — approximately 22.0 cm — directly from the real car's 3,970 mm overall length divided by the 1:18 ratio. The designation confirms this colourway is exclusive to one retailer.
In the Display Cabinet
At 22 cm, the Supercabrio requires a standard 1:18 display shelf — a single shelf space of roughly 25–26 cm allows comfortable clearance. The open-top body profile sits lower than a typical saloon, making it visually distinctive alongside taller contemporaries. It pairs naturally with other MITICA Italian road car releases or with 1980s Italian open-top subjects such as the Alfa Romeo Spider of the same period. For collectors focused on Carrozzeria Bertone's lesser-documented 1980s production, this model fills a gap that no die-cast manufacturer has addressed at this scale.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
How big is the 1:18 scale model?
The real Fiat Ritmo II measures 3,970 mm in overall length. Dividing by 18 gives 220.6 mm, so the model is approximately 22.0 cm long. Allow around 25–26 cm of shelf depth to display it comfortably.
Does the model have opening parts?
MITICA produces this model in resin, which typically means a sealed, one-piece body with no opening parts. Detail is concentrated on the exterior surfaces — the distinctive open-top Bertone bodywork, the two-tone green metallic finish, and the body contours of the Supercabrio conversion.
What is the Nostra Esclusiva designation?
Nostra Esclusiva indicates that the two-tone green metallic Palinuro colourway is a retailer-exclusive variant produced by MITICA for a single distributor. This specific colour combination will not be offered through other channels.
What makes the real Fiat Ritmo Bertone Supercabrio significant?
The Supercabrio was produced in very small numbers by hand at Bertone's Grugliasco plant. It deleted the B-pillar entirely — an unusual structural choice for a production-based open car — and used the 1,498 cc 105 bhp Ritmo 100S engine. It was first shown at the 1982 Geneva Motor Show.
