Imagine for a moment: one morning in December 1963, somewhere in the Citroën offices, a man had the complete front end of a DS brought into his workshop. Armed with a simple hammer, plasticine, and Plexiglas, he literally destroyed and reconstructed the car's hood, bumpers, and fenders in a matter of hours, creating the famous "shark nose" that would become one of the most recognizable signatures of French automobiles.

This man is Flaminio Bertoni , and this anecdote alone sums up the genius of a man who wasn't really a classic car designer, but rather a sculptor. An artist who revolutionized the automobile by treating each car as a work of art.

{slides}

Because you see, when we talk about French car design, we immediately think of the iconic lines of the DS or the irresistible charm of the 2CV. But these masterpieces are the work of an Italian who never planned to design cars and yet who would forever revolutionize the way we think about automobiles.

The first strokes of the scissors of a future genius

It's January 10, 1903, in Masnago, near Varese in Lombardy. Flaminio Bertoni was born into a modest family, but the kid quickly showed an extraordinary talent for the visual arts. I swear, this guy was already sculpting when other kids were still playing marbles. His teacher, Giuseppe Talamoni, trained him in the techniques of modeling and sculpture, and at 18, our future genius joined the Macchi coachbuilder.

But where things get interesting is in 1922. A French delegation arrives at Macchi and is completely charmed by Bertoni's work. Imagine the scene: French people coming to Italy and leaving with a crush on a 19-year-old sculptor. This is exactly what will change the course of automotive history.

In 1923, he headed to France for a study trip that would last eight years. Eight years during which Bertoni absorbed French expertise , successively working for the coachbuilders Felbert, Manessius, and Rothschild. And it was there, in a Parisian workshop, that he met Lucien Rosengart, a friend of André Citroën. Destiny had just begun.

Entry into Citroën: when art meets industry

June 1932. Flaminio Bertoni walks through the doors of Citroën for the first time. André Citroën, the boss, needs a designer for a revolutionary project: a front-wheel drive car. The problem is, no one really knows what it should look like. The engineers have solved the technical problems, but when it comes to the design, it's a complete blur.

So Bertoni did what he did best: he sculpted. Not a drawing, not a technical plan, a sculpture . He presented his work to André Citroën and his wife, and it was love at first sight. This sculpture was the DNA of what would become the Traction Avant, presented in April 1934.

And you know what? This car would revolutionize the European automobile. Because Bertoni didn't design a car, he sculpted a pure form. Gone were the right angles and crooked lines of the period's automobiles, replaced by harmonious curves that naturally follow aerodynamics.

The transformation of the 2CV: giving a soul to the utility vehicle

But perhaps the craziest Bertoni story is that of the 2CV. In 1935, Pierre-Jules Boulanger, the boss of Citroën, launched a crazy project: to create a car to transport "a farmer in clogs with 50 kg of potatoes or a basket of eggs across a plowed field." The specifications for the TPV - Very Small Car - were absolutely pragmatic: cheap, robust, economical.

In 1939, the engineers released their prototype. And then, disaster struck: the POS terminal was absolutely ugly. So ugly that even Boulanger broke out in a cold sweat. How could this be sold to the general public? That's when Bertoni was called in with an impossible mission: to give this thing "a minimum of aesthetic dignity."

And there, Bertoni would perform a miracle. With his sculptor's methods, he would transform this utilitarian car into an icon. The round headlights that gave it a friendly look, the wavy grille that gave it a permanent smile, the rounded fenders that gave it character... Bertoni didn't redesign the 2CV, he gave it a personality.

The unexpected influence of a BMW motorcycle

By the way, a juicy little anecdote that I love: the famous air-cooled twin-cylinder engine of the 2CV? It's directly inspired by the engine of Bertoni's personal BMW motorcycle. Can you imagine? The guy designs the lines of the car AND unwittingly influences the design of the engine because he rides his motorcycle on the weekends!

But Bertoni's wartime story is a complete mess. In 1940, he was arrested for refusing to sign a pledge of allegiance to France— he didn't want to deny his Italian origins. In 1944, he was arrested again, but this time for collaborating with the French! The poor guy was arrested twice for completely opposite reasons. That's how confusing the times were.

And yet, despite this turbulence, the 2CV finally arrived in 1948 and immediately became one of France's most beloved cars. Thanks to Bertoni's touch, this farm car became the traveling companion of an entire generation.

The DS: when Bertoni sculpts the automobile of the future

But Bertoni's absolute masterpiece, his very own Mona Lisa, is obviously the DS. In 1955, at the Paris Motor Show, Citroën unveiled this car from the future, and it was a real sensation. Visitors couldn't believe their eyes.

This time, Bertoni worked in tandem with engineer André Lefebvre , and their collaboration produced a monster of innovation. Lefebvre was in charge of the revolutionary technology—hydropneumatic suspension, power steering, disc brakes—while Bertoni sculpted lines that looked like they came straight out of a science fiction film.

And do you know where the inspiration for the DS came from? From a fish shape that Bertoni had sculpted from a block of plaster! This guy looked at a fish and saw the car of tomorrow. That's artistic genius.

An emergency shortening that becomes iconic

But be careful, because the history of the DS is also a beautiful improvisation. The first version was almost six meters long - far too long for the French garages of the time. What did Bertoni do? He shortened the car by a meter in an emergency and masked the cut with those famous plastic cones that housed the rear indicators.

This last-minute adaptation? It's become one of the DS's most recognizable design elements! That's genius, too: transforming a technical constraint into an aesthetic signature.

The Renault 5 was much more than just a people's car—it was a symbol of freedom and independence for an entire generation of French people. When it was launched in 1972, no one imagined it would become one of France's most iconic cars.

And you know what? This golden era of French automobiles reminds me why I love miniature cars. Because holding a small 1/43 scale DS in your hands is a bit like rediscovering all that creativity all at once.

That's why I opened my shop BernardMiniatures.fr. I have more than 1500 miniatures in stock, mostly 1/43 scale, with a focus on vintage cars from 1950 to 1999. Well, I'm not a big site, so I often only have one or two pieces of each model, but that's also what makes it charming. I have Citroëns of course - some magnificent DS and 2CVs - but also Renaults, Peugeots, models from the 60s, 70s, and 80s...

Delivery is free from 75€ in France, and I make sure to wrap everything well with bubble wrap because these little cars break easily.

Go take a look at bernardminiatures.fr if you're interested - and you'll see, I have some miniature DSs that are really worth a look.

20,00 € / Citroën DS 19 Convertible Red (Under Blister)

Last item available

Voir la collection

25,00 € / 1963 Citroën DS 19 Cabriolet "Le Caddy" Henri Chapron Violet (in Blister)

Last item available

Voir la collection

25,00 € / Citroën DS 19 coupé Ricou bleue de 1959 (sous blister)

Last item available

Voir la collection

25,00 € / 1972 Dark Green Citroën SM - Auto Plus

Last item available

Voir la collection

Now, let's get back to our brilliant sculptor and his unique working method...

The Bertoni Method: Sculpting Rather Than Drawing

What makes Bertoni unique is his working method. Where all the designers of the time drew on paper, he sculpted. He thinks in three dimensions, he feels the material, he senses the volumes. That's why his cars have this fluidity, this harmony that can't be found anywhere else.

Henri Dargent, who was his assistant from 1957 to 1964, says that Bertoni spent hours modeling clay, searching for the perfect curve. "He didn't draw a car, he brought it to life with his hands," he said. This sculptural approach explains why Bertoni's Citroëns have aged so gracefully.

And this method would influence a whole generation of designers. Robert Opron, who succeeded him after his death, would maintain this philosophy of volume and sculpture. We find it in the CX, the GS, all those Citroëns that still bear Bertoni's DNA today.

Shark Nose: Brilliant Improvisation or Established Method?

This "shark nose" anecdote from December 1963 perfectly sums up the man. One Saturday morning, with a hammer and a few makeshift tools, Bertoni revolutionized the design of the DS. This creative violence, this ability to destroy in order to better rebuild, is all his own.

And the result? A foretaste of what the 1970s automobile would look like. That shark nose is already influencing the lines of the future CX. Bertoni doesn't know it yet, but he's just designed the future of Citroën.

Sadly, he will never see this future come to fruition.

The brutal end of a genius in flight

February 7, 1964. Flaminio Bertoni collapses in his office. A heart attack takes his life at the age of 61, while he is working on the lines of a future DS coupé. The Italian master literally dies at work, sculpting until the very end the automotive shapes that revolutionized 20th-century design.

We'll never see this unfinished DS coupe. But what would it have looked like? Knowing Bertoni, it probably would have pushed the boundaries again, surprised the whole world again.

His passing leaves a huge void at Citroën. How do you replace a guy like that? How do you continue to make Bertoni without Bertoni? Robert Opron will try, and with talent, moreover, but the brand's soul will never be quite the same again.

The Eternal Legacy of an Automotive Sculptor

Today, more than 60 years after the DS's introduction, Bertoni's lines still inspire dreams. This car has been voted the most beautiful car of all time by numerous specialist magazines. It's sometimes called the "Mona Lisa of the automobile."

And the 2CV? It produced more than 5 million units before its final discontinuation in 1990. Fifty-two years of career for a car that was supposed to be purely utilitarian. That's Bertoni's power: transforming the useful into the beautiful, the functional into the emotional.

Because you see, Flaminio Bertoni didn't just design cars. He sculpted emotions. Every curve of his creations tells a story, every line expresses a feeling. When you look at a DS, you don't just see a car from the 1950s; you see the optimism of an entire era that believed in the future.

And when you come across a 2CV happily revving along a country road, you immediately feel that happy simplicity, that joy of living that Bertoni was able to instill in a simple "farmer's car".

The Italian genius who revolutionized the French automobile industry

Ultimately, the story of Flaminio Bertoni is that of a man who revolutionized an entire art form without even realizing it. He left Italy with his sculptor's tools and ended up redefining what an automobile could be.

Before him, cars were built. After him, dreams were sculpted. The DS and the 2CV aren't just means of transportation; they're rolling works of art that continue, decades later, to make enthusiasts' hearts beat faster.

And this lesson from Bertoni still resonates today. In a world where automobiles are becoming increasingly technical, increasingly digital, emotion remains the key element. A car without soul is just a machine. With soul, it becomes a traveling companion.

Flaminio Bertoni understood this 70 years ago. He sculpted cars like statues: for eternity. And it's clear he succeeded. His creations span generations without aging, proof that beauty, true beauty, never ages.

This is why Flaminio Bertoni will forever remain the sculptor of our most beautiful automotive dreams.