Only eighteen Fortvac Bernardis are thought to have been made in St-Henri de Levis, Quebec, Canada, at least that’s how the legend goes.  They were marketed as a gull-winged “production” supercar rather than as a kit car. The 1986 Fortvac Bernardi offered for sale on eBay here is one that will require some real spit, determination, muscle, and lots of long green cash to get it tearing up the road once again.  Currently priced at $6,685 USD (or $8,800 Canadian), the car does NOT come with an engine or trans, a driver’s seat, glass in the driver’s side gullwing door, or a back window. But yet, she still looks like she just wants to take off.

The Bernardi sits on a 98” wheelbase and is 78” wide.  Its ground clearance is just 5.5” and the original sales brochures offer the car with a 2.8l V-6 engine, a 350 V8 or, a 455 Oldsmobile engine coupled to a transaxle.  Transmission options were either a four-speed manual or a THM425 automatic found typically in the Olds Toronado until 1978, several motorhomes, and the Cadillac Eldorado. The car listed on eBay includes the rims and tires but the seller cautions that the tires have to check on the sidewalls.  Seller Marc narrates a YouTube video, the link available here.  Bernardis were all equipped with four-wheel independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, and power steering. That is a serious rear wing that must make 737s envious.  Parts to complete the rear light assembly are included but not yet mounted, according to Seller.

Scuttlebutt on the internet mentions the Fortvac car in the same breath as kit cars like the Cimbria, which was indeed a kit car body to be placed on an altered VW chassis.  The distinction is that Fortvac may have very similar body lines (leading some pundits to opine that the molds for the Cimbria may have wound up in Mr. Fortier’s hands—can not confirm this) but Fortvac did manufacture a complete body and chassis and had approvals, apparently, from the Canadian DOT.  This car’s forward-tilting hood is missing its hinges and some work will be required to fit new ones as seen in the video.  Since the engine is mounted amidships, under the hood we find the fuel tank and fuel filler location as well as access to the master cylinder and windshield washer tank.  Not a whole lot of room for the wife’s birthday present or golf clubs – maybe the scorecard?

The dash is simple and compact.  In fact, the cabin is pretty compact, not roomy like a new Tahoe–the roof sits only 41” off the ground.  The driver’s seat is missing and it would have to be reproduced from the remaining passenger’s seat (or replace both).   Still and all, entrepreneurship in bringing car brands to market should always be applauded because the barrier to entry for something as complex as a car is so very high. Without a cast-iron will and stainless steel stomach lining, even Elon Musk’s venture could well have easily become just another small car builder relegated to the “thought it was a good idea” file.  Good luck to Marc, the seller of this 1986 project car that once upon a time kept Fortvac founder Richard Fortier awake at night thinking about the grand possibilities.