ItalDesign penned the Brett Solomon-reviewed Beretta U22 NEOS. That’s the design house founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the man who crafted the DeLorean, Ferrari 250 GT and various Maserati. All of which were achingly beautiful. None of which were known for mechanical reliability. Quite the opposite, in fact. And now Beretta has “discovered” that the Guigaro-designed .22 caliber NEOS semiautomatic pistol has an “issue.” Something to do with the firing pin assembly. Seems a NEOS owner can fire the gun with the safety on. In fact, switching the safety from OFF to ON can discharge the weapon. At the risk of being a guastafesta, someone at Beretta should be rosso come un peperone. As Mr. O’Reilly might say, I’l let the gunmaker have the ultima parola . . .
The company’s website boldly proclaims that the “Chances of either of these situations occurring is extremely remote and no injuries have occurred because of this condition.” (I’d recall that “is” for an “are” while they’re at it.) .
Click here to see if your NEOS needs fixing, click here for a pdf of the official recall notice.