Phillips and Classic Driver present ‘Trinity’ exhibition in London

After much anticipation, Bertone’s mythical Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica concept cars finally landed at Phillips on Berkeley Square yesterday evening, commencing the Trinity: BAT 5-7-9 exhibition. Together with Phillips, Classic Driver hosted an exclusive private preview and panel discussion…

The BATs have landed

The staging of Franco Scaglione’s sensational Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica concepts for the Trinity: BAT 5-7-9 exhibition was superbly judged. Phillips’ generously sized street-level gallery was dimly lit, with only red and green spotlights highlighting the audacious 1950s prototypes and casting wild shadows onto the pinky walls. The rear silhouette of the especially aerodynamic B.A.T. 7, in particular, fittingly cast the outline of a huge bat onto the wall ahead of it – an image you’ve no doubt seen plastered across many an Instagram feed by now.

Over to the experts

To complement the private preview of the exhibition, which opens today and runs until 23 November, Classic Driver marked the opening of Trinity: BAT 5-7-9 by co-hosting a panel discussion about the cars, featuring our very own J. Philip Rathgen, Aurel Bacs of Bacs & Russo, car consultant Simon Kidston and the Italian journalist, author and curator for the Museo dell’Automobile in Turin Giosuè Boetto Cohen.

Trinity

Moderated by Phillips’ International Watches Specialist James Marks, the panel explored the significance of Bertone’s B.A.T. cars in the wider context of 20th-century design, art, architecture and watches and their impact on the automotive landscape.