1955 Alfa Romeo BAT 9 (Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica) designed by Franco Scaglione while working for Bertone. The last of the BAT cars, If you look at this car for just an instant it’s already abundantly clear that it could have only come out of Italy.

As striking as BAT 5 and 7 are, BAT 9 is the one that actually influenced a lot of other car designers. One is Peter Brock, the man who initially penned the 1963 Split Window Corvette, he took styling cues from this very car. Also note that Bill Mitchell (Vice President of Styling at General Motors) would regularly go to Italy for inspiration and ideas. Which isn’t surprising, and so it’s also not surprising that all three BAT cars had a huge influence on car designers from several other automobile companies. Photo's by Ingo Schmoldt.