Bizzarrini: A remarkable marque now reborn
The story behind the restoration of an iconic Italian car company
The history of the automobile is littered with the names of once aspiring marques who for one reason or another no longer exist. Some just didn’t have what it takes to succeed, many found themselves unable to keep going for economic reasons, others ended up the victims of acquisitions and were later killed off.
What unites them all are the hopes and ambitions of their founders, many of whom lent their names to the vehicles they hoped would make their mark on the road and, in some cases, on the track.
One such aspirant was Giotto Bizzarrini whose eponymous marque produced fewer than two hundred cars in the 1960s.
For many, the name Bizzarrini conjures up the same excitement as other great Italian automotive icons such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. But while they are still going, Bizzarrini only lasted for four years.
Born in the Tuscan coastal village of Quercianella on 6 June 1926, Giotto Bizzarrini’s family came from nearby Livorno and were wealthy farmers. His grandfather had worked with Guglielmo Marconi on his development of the wireless telegraph.
Whilst studying at the University of Pisa, where he received an engineering degree, Giotto began building his own racecar. Created from scrap parts, his 1953 ‘Macchinetta’ Berlinetta showed great ingenuity.
The Macchinetta began life as a Fiat 500 B Topolino, which meant it came with an overhead valve 569cc four cylinder engine. In stock form, it produced 16.5 horsepower, but Bizzarrini fitted a Siata cylinder head and then adapted a pair of Dell’Orto carburetors to reach an impressive 30 horsepower. To improve the car’s balance, he moved the engine from over the front wheels to near the centre of the frame.
The biggest change, however, was the aerodynamic coupe body, where he was able to lower the front bonnet profile. Beneath the aluminum skin, Bizzarrini created a tubular steel frame that was similar to the construction used in Ferraris of the period, and the car’s teardrop shape was a direct result of his knowledge of airflow.
After graduating in 1954, his first job was an internship at Oto Melara, an Italian defence company in Spezia. From there he moved to Milan where he worked in Alfa Romeo’s prototype department, Servizio Esperimenze Principale, beginning with the Giulietta. His speciality was working on the chassis, suspension and aerodynamics.
Whilst at Alfa, he also became one of their test drivers. But what put him on the road to success was a meeting in 1957 with Enzo Ferrari.
When word spread Ferrari was looking for a new test driver, the story goes that Bizzarrini jumped in his Macchinetta and drove to Maranello.
The story goes that, impressed with both the young man and the engineering and design of his little car, Enzo offered Bizzarrini the job on the spot. Before long he was put in charge of chassis, suspensions and road trials for all Ferrari prototypes. In effect, he became Ferrari’s prototype engineer.
Whilst at Maranello, he was responsible for the Testarossa — a 12 cylinder engine — and for creating the legendary Ferrari 250 SWB and the even more revered 250 GTO. Today, the 250 GTO is considered to be one of the finest sports cars ever made and regularly cited as being among the most expensive cars in the world. However, Giotto didn’t get to see it launched.
In November 1961, several months before the official reveal, he was fired following a dispute with Enzo that has become known as “The Palace Revolt”.
It was triggered when Ferrari dismissed commercial director Girolamo Gardini for daring to suggest that Enzo’s wife, Laura, should stop interfering in the factory’s day-to-day operations. Four of Ferrari’s senior staff, including chief engineer Carlo Chiti, manager Romolo Tavoni and 36-year-old Bizzarrini himself, staged a walk-out in order to get Gardini re-instated. Enzo responded by firing them all.
Almost immediately, the men who left Ferrari formed a new company, ATS or Automobili Turismo e Sport, and they took one of Ferrari’s biggest clients with them — Scuderia Serenissima, the Venice-based racing team run by a wealthy young aristocrat, Count Giovanni Volpi.
[La Serenissima is Italian for ‘the most serene one’ the name given to the Republic of Venice]
After an unsuccessful first season in Formula One, the ATS company, with premises in Casalecchio di Reno near Bologna, fell apart and disbanded. When production ceased in 1964 they had produced just 12 units of the ATS 2500 GTS, a 2-door mid-engine sports car.
The Breadvan
At the same time as working with ATS, Giotto was creating another masterpiece, the legendary Breadvan. It was named by the British press as the ‘Breadvan’ and by the French as La Camionnette (Little Truck).
This one-off Ferrari 250 GT SWB to give it its formal name, was built in 1962 by Bizzarrini as a F-you to Enzo Ferrari himself, after he refused to sell two of his new 250 GTOs to Count Volpi’s Scuderia Serenissima.
Bizzarrini built the car at Neri & Bonacini, also known as Nembo, a small carrozzeria in Modena, based on the underpinnings of an existing 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB. Aside from the red paintwork and wire wheels, it didn’t bear much resemblance to the donor car, having a long-pointed nose and looking very different from the A-pillar back.
The finished car was 143 lb lighter than Ferrari’s 250 GTO and it made its debut at the 1962 Le Mans 24 hour race, but in the fourth hour the drive-shaft failed and the car was forced to retire.
In 1965, Volpi sold the car for $2,800. Today, it’s owned by an Austrian collector.
In July 2022, whilst competing in the biennial Le Mans Classic at the Circuit de la Sarthe, the Breadvan crashed into the tyre wall and sustained significant damage. At the time, it was valued at $44 million!
On 14 July 2023, a fully rebuilt Breadvan took to the Goodwood Hill at the Festival of Speed and on 9 September 2023 it was competing in a race at the Goodwood Revival.
Lamborghini
Shortly after leaving Ferrari, Bizzarrini was approached by Ferruccio Lamborghini, who contracted him to build an upgraded new V12 engine for a line of GT cars that would become a major rival to Ferrari.
The engine he designed went on to power every 12-cylinder Lamborghini from the company’s launch in 1963 to the end of the Murciélago in 2010.
Bizzarrini worked for Lamborghini as a consultant through his own company, Società Autostar. But his time at Sant Agata was brief and they parted ways in 1963.
Rivolta
He then teamed up with the Milanese industrialist Renzo Rivolta, whose ambitious marque Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A was in its infancy. He was only at the company a few years, but Società Autostar helped develop two of their most famous cars, the four-seat Iso Rivolta GT and the Iso Grifo.
After some success with the Rivolta model, including importing it to America, Bizzarrini talked Rivolta into creating a two-seater coupe. But they couldn’t agree on what it should be like.
Bizzarrini had built an all-out race car, the ultra-low Grifo A3/C, although to mollify Rivolta, there was also a street version, the A3/L, the L for Lusso. Rivolta however wasn’t into racing and thought the Lusso was too low and its alloy body too delicate.
Rivolta went back to Bertone for a tamer design that could be produced in steel, and this became the prototype for the Iso Grifo coupe.
Years later Bizzarrini explained his philosophy in developing the Iso Grifo A3/C: “I started with the idea of Ferrari’s 250 GTO, and wanted to improve on it”.
As well as being an expert engineer, Bizzarrini had a passion for aerodynamics, drawing much of his inspiration from fighter aircraft.
He was convinced that cars shouldn’t be designed by stylists because aerodynamics should lead to the conception of an optimal car like an airplane.
Indeed, much of Bizzarrini’s time in developing the Ferrari had been spent in the wind tunnel at Pisa University. Here he shaped the car’s low nose, long hood, fastback roofline, rear lip spoiler, and its Kamm tail (named after the German car designer and aerodynamicist Wunibald Kamm.)
Bizzarrini also knew that to make a great front-engined car in what was increasingly becoming a mid-engined era of super-cars you had to have the engine as far back in the front as possible, so far back that you had to reach through a hatch in the dash to reach some of the spark plugs.
By 1964, it was clear that the partnership between Bizzarrini and Iso was coming to an end. Rivolta wanted to focus on building luxurious GT cars, while Bizzarrini’s passion was racing.
Bizzarrini Grifo Stradale
After another dispute, Bizzarrini and Rivolta parted ways in 1965; however, an agreement was struck in which Bizzarrini could continue to build the A3/C under his own name.
To do this, he opened his own factory in Livorno where he set about building his first race cars, starting with the Bizzarrini Grifo Stradale. They were entered into several races that year without much success.
Of all the failed races in 1965, the 12 Hours of Sebring was a particular disaster. One of the cars crashed due to brake failure, hitting the side of a VW bus and becoming a total write-off in the process. The other aquaplaned in heavy rain, hitting a bridge and splitting in two.
The Grifo’s greatest success was winning its class at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1965, by which time it was now known as the Bizzarrini 5300 GT.
Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada
Perhaps in response to those disastrous events, in 1966 Bizzarrini focused on building his first road car.
Styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro while working for Bertone, the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada was based on his earlier Iso Grifo design, but featured several revisions to streamline the bodywork for better aerodynamics.
Only 133 examples of the 5300 GT were reportedly built, the bodies crafted by Piero Drogo’s Carrozzeria BBM with final assembly taking place at Bizzarrini’s own plant at Via della Padula in Livorno.
Described by car afficianado Jay Leno as “automotive jewellery” and proclaimed to be one of his top three bucket list cars, the 5300 GT has gone on to become the company’s most famous car, with examples shooting up in price at auction over the past few years.
One lucky owner is Coldplay’s Guy Berryman, an avid car collector and Bizzarrini fan. In 2013, Berryman met up with Giotto Bizzarrini near Quercianella.
Berryman has had his silver 1967 Bizzarrini 5300 GT fully restored to its original condition by Gloucestershire-based Thornley Kelham. The restoration took more than 4000 hours, spread over a two-year period.
The work was worth it as in 2019 the car was voted ‘Restoration of the Year’ at the Historic Motoring Awards.
In February 2022, a 1968 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada with just 18,000 miles on the clock was put up for sale at Gooding & Co’s Amelia Island auction.
The car had been purchased by Hollywood stuntman Carey Loftin
who was one of just two documented owners from new. It had been in single ownership since 1988 and underwent a two-year restoration in 2000. The estimate sale price was $700,000 — $905,000. It sold for $775,000.
On 10 September 2023, whilst competing in the RAC TT Celebration race at the Goodwood Revival, a Bizzarrini 5300 that had only just completed a major restoration, went off the track and into the tyre wall, badly damaging its front end.
Bizzarrini Monoposto
In 1965, Bizzarrini built the Monoposto (Italian for “single seat”) an open-wheeled racing car powered by a highly modified Corvette 327 V8 that produced over 420 bhp.
The prototype was created for French businessman and gentleman racer Regis Fraissinet. When Fraissinet first drove the car it scared him so much he decided he didn’t want it.
Although it was probably not intended to compete in Formula 1, Bizzarrini put out word he was considering an F1 entry with the car.
Apparently Bizzarrini kept this car for years, well into the 1970s. It was eventually sold and imported into the United States in the 1980s and then refurbished with the work completed in 2008.
In 2013 it was entered into the Concorso Italiano in Monterey, California and is currently on loan to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
In May 2022, the Monoposto was put up for auction. The highest bid was $115,000 which did not meet the reserve.
Bizzarrini Europa
The 5300 Strada might be the most iconic Bizzarrini, but it wasn’t the company’s only model. In 1968, a smaller, GT-style car designed by Pietro Vanni, was offered for sale.
Called the Bizzarrini Europa, it was intended to be the model that would give the company the mass appeal of Italian rivals like Lancia and Alfa Romeo.
To keep costs down, the Europa used the engine and several other internal components from the Opel GT. It might have become successful had it been given more exposure, but financial worries at the company prevented that, and when Bizzarrini ceased production in 1969 only a dozen examples had been built.
However it’s believed that a small number of additional Europa’s may have been completed after the shutdown using left over chassis, possibly bringing the total number to 17.
After the factory closed, the 1968 prototype was sold to Giorgio Giordanengo. Originally fitted with an Alfa Romeo engine, it was later replaced by an Opel engine. Giordanengo kept the car for 25 years before selling it to Paul Kawan of Belgium. In 2018, it was put up for sale by Sothebys Paris where it sold for €212,750.
What is believed to be the final factory-built example was put up for sale in May 2023 in the Czech Republic. The car had been fully restored in 2010.
Bizzarrini P538
The last of Bizzarrini’s race cars was the Bizzarrini P538, an open-top two-seater with a 5.3 liter 8 cylinder engine from the Chevrolet Corvette. The designation stands for Posteriore (rear engine).
Only a handful of these Spider’s styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro were produced. Although the car looked promising, both P538s entered in that year’s Le Mans failed to finish.
Although the exact number of original P538s is unconfirmed, it’s believed just four were built by Bizzarrini in the 1960s, followed by three additional cars the following decade.
Apparently, at least one P538 was converted into a closed road car, intended to race at Le Mans. The car was never entered and the prototype was subsequently offered for sale as a road car.
Of the four known P538s, two were found in 2020 stored in a Pennsylvania warehouse where they had sat gathering dust for at least thirty years along with several hundred other cars.
Bizzarrini Manta
In 1968, just a few months before Bizzarrini would close its doors, a newly-independent Giorgetto Giugiaro would rebuild one of the P538s with his own unique design in collaboration with Giotto Bizzarrini himself.
The Manta was the first concept car designed by Giugiaro as head of his own carrozzeria, Italdesign.
Unveiled just 40 days after the incorporation of Italdesign, and arguably the most bizarre Bizzarrini ever made, it featured a continuous curve that ran uninterrupted from its nose to its tail. With the Manta, Giugiaro pioneered what we know today as the one-box car design.
But it was the three-seat layout with the driving position in the centre that set it apart from everything else available at the time, decades before McLaren introduced the same layout in its own F1.
Following its debut at the 1968 Turin Motor Show, the concept car was repainted orange and displayed at the Tokyo Racing Car Show and later at the 1969 Los Angeles Auto Show.
The Manta reportedly went missing on its way back to Italy only to resurface 10 years later at a Genoa Port customs auction. It was purchased by Giovanni Giordanengo, who restored it and changed its colour to silver. It was restored once again in the early 2000s and returned to its original turquoise paint.
In 2005, Ron and Diane Spindler, bought the Manta when it was under restoration and finished bringing it back to life. Over the next few years they re-introduced this special design concept to the world by taking it to and receiving accolades and awards from Pebble Beach, Villa d’Este, Goodwood, Amelia Island, Palos Verdes and Concorso Italiano. The Manta was also displayed for sometime at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
It then entered various Concours events, including the 2005 Pebble Beach, where it won the First-in-Class prize. The Manta was auctioned off in 2012 with an estimate of $1m to $1.5m, but bidding wasn’t high enough to meet the reserve and it left the auction unsold.
The marque’s demise
Part of the reason Bizzarrini always struggled to stay afloat was Giotto Bizzarrini’s insistence on making cars for the track. These cars never saw much success, displaying blistering pace only to be taken out of the running due to reliability issues or crashes.
By the end of 1966, despite production of the 5300 GT Strada reaching a stable volume, Bizzarrini was facing cash-flow problems. He sought new investors and the company name was changed to Bizzarrini S.p.A. with its headquarters in Via della Padula, Livorno.
Less than two years later in 1968 Bizzarrini was told his credit lines wouldn’t be renewed and his suppliers did not get paid. After an unsuccessful attempt to sell his company to American Motor Corporation, Bizzarrini S.p.A. was forced to close. In the 3rd quarter of 1968 a trustee was appointed and eventually the business was declared bankrupt.
Former Bizzarrini manager Salvatore Diomante acquired all the equipment, tools, and parts for the 1900 GT Europa and 5300 GT Strada and began maintaining Bizzarrini cars.
In February 1970, Diomante left Livorno and returned to Turin where he set up Autocostruzioni SD in Moncalieri and worked there with Giotto Bizzarrini as an external consultant. Giotto operated under the corporate name Z2.
Together they built the rear engine GT Europa based on the Fiat 128 and proposed this car to Fiat, but they were already working on a similar model (what would become the Lancia Beta Montecarlo). Both also worked as consultants for Scioneri, Coriasco, Lombardi and Iso.
Post Bizzarrini projects
After Bizzarrini went bankrupt in 1969, several “continuation” P538s were made by Autoconstruzione SD, many of these with personal input from Bizzarrini himself.
Giotto spent several years working as a design consultant for other companies, with his next big project being the AMC AMX/3. Unveiled in 1970, the initial plan was for it to be mass-produced in Germany for sale to a global market, establishing AMC as a bigger name in the performance car world.
Bizzarrini co-developed the design with Italdesign, and it seemed like everything was set. However, shortly before production was due to start, AMC announced it was axing the project.
Bizzarrini attempted to make his own independent version of the car called the Sciabola (Italian for sabre), but was unable to get the project off the ground.
And that appeared to be Bizzarrini’s last hurrah. Until 2020.
The marque’s revival
In 2020, the Bizzarrini marque was revived by Pegasus Brands, an international car dealership specialising in automotive brands including Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce and Koenigsegg.
Its chairman Rezam Al Roumi, had a long history in the car industry. In 2007, he led a consortium of investors to purchase a majority stake in Aston Martin Lagonda. Al Roumi remained a director of Aston Martin from the acquisition until the company’s public listing on the London Stock Exchange in October 2018.
The new company announced it would be producing a limited run of the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Revival Corsa to be assembled in the UK at their own dedicated 1,500 square metre space.
As well as 24 continuation examples of the 5300 GT, Al Roumi, confirmed the marque’s intention to produce a modern Bizzarrini supercar.
Continuation cars
In 2022 the new Bizzarrini delivered its first recreation of the car that raced at Le Mans. The majority are finished in Bizzarrini Rosso Corsa, with white numbered roundels so each client can choose their own unique number to be hand-applied to their car.
This livery, and indeed, the total number of cars being built, is an homage to the 5300 GT Corsa chassis #0222, the Le Mans car and manufactured utilising components from original suppliers.
As well as the input of experts originally involved in the 5300 GT project, when developing the continuation car Bizzarrini relied on more than a thousand original drawings and documents, plus 3-D laser scans from an original 1965 5300 GT Corsa race car.
Such dedication to authenticity extended to tracking down the correct shade of red paint. A sample from an original panel was used, which was subsequently colour-matched to create Rosso Corsa Bizzarrini 222.
Today’s car is as close to a facsimile reproduction of that 1965 race car as it’s possible to have while conforming to modern safety standards, although RML, which builds it for Bizzarrini at their facility in Wellingborough, can also adapt it so it can gain IVA certification for use on the road.
The hand-built vehicles use a lightweight single-piece composite body over a steel frame, with buyers able to specify a carbon fibre version if desired.
“Had it been available, we believe Giotto Bizzarrini would almost certainly have deployed carbon fibre in his racing cars,” said Richard Quinlan, COO of Bizzarrini. “As a result, the 5300 GT Revival Corsa will be offered with a full carbon fibre bodyshell as standard for those customers who do not need to conform to Historic Racing regulations.”
Inside, the two seats are protected by a six-point roll cage. Power comes from a “period specific” 5.3-litre V8 with Weber 45 DCOE carbs, developing over 400 horsepower to give a power to weight ratio (the weight being around 1230kg) comparable with a “modern-day supercar.”
To own one, customers will have to pay around £1.65m, plus VAT, close to double what you’d have to pay now for an original.
My thoughts on the 5300 GT’s design
It’s often claimed that the 5300 GT is the spiritual successor to the Ferrari 250. As Bizzarrini had a big hand in both, it’s understandable that they share many visual cues.
While personally I prefer the cleaner lines of the Ferrari — a design which I think has stood the test of time better — there are lots of styling details of the Bizzarrini that I do like.
Visually, one has to point out that the 5300 GT looks almost like a copycat of the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2 from 1963. This was a full-fledged aerodynamic exercise by Zagato’s Ercole Spada that was as strikingly beautiful as it was aerodynamic.
With so much cross-collaboration between Italian designers, coachbuilders and manufacturers at the time, it’s perhaps no surprise that design elements from one car often appeared in another.
One’s first impression is just how low and wide the car is. I particularly like how the windscreen curves around the top of the hood. However, I’m not so keen on the glasshouse, where there are too many awkward lines compared to the rest of the bodywork.
Overall, the 5300 GT has few areas of overstyling, indeed its surfaces are remarkably clean, curvaceous at the front with its glass-covered headlights and flat at the sides as befits a car designed for the racetrack rather than the road.
What gives the car its personality are its quirky design details. I say quirky because they are unusual, certainly for a car of this era. At the Kamm tail rear, there is an air outlet that allows you to see the tyre, something that is common in today’s supercars. Also at the rear, is a curious chrome embellishment of different sized roundels in the shape of a circle. And of course, you can’t escape those distinctive tailpipes.
Another quirky feature is the way the car’s name is written on its rear pillar. The chrome lettering is another example of quite how individual this car was from its contemporaries.
One would expect a sixty year old car’s interior to look old-fashioned and in many ways. the 5300 GT’s does give its age away more than its exterior. But again, it’s clear Bizzarrini was only thinking about racing. Overall, it’s pretty spartan, with swaves of black diamond quilting.
I’ve long held the view that the right wheels make all the difference to how a car looks. The majority of sports cars of the time would have had wire wheels, but Bizzarrini had other ideas and instead he went with magnesium wheels designed specifically for him by Campagnolo.
When I first saw them, I wasn’t that keen, but over time they’ve become a key element of the Bizzarrini’s look. Indeed, on the continuation model they are finished in gold.
Campagnolo, the Vicenza-based cycling components company, began producing sports car wheels in the late 50’s and supplied the likes of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati — even the Ferrari F1 team. Today, it no longer manufactures automotive products and is fully-focused on the cycling industry.
What’s next for the brand?
The revived carmaker is also working on a modern supercar. This was confirmed by Simon Busby, Bizzarrini’s marketing chief:
“We relaunched Bizzarrini as the start of a long-term vision. As we continue to produce the rest of this series of vehicles we will continue building on the passion and values of the founder with the next stage of the ongoing development of our modern supercar.”
In February 2023, Bizzarrini unveiled that modern supercar. Styled by Giorgio Giugiaro and his son Fabrizio, and called the Giotto, it looks stunning.
With testing commencing in 2024, the Giotto won’t be available until 2026. Bizzarrini chief executive, Ian Fenton explained:
“The Giotto is part our ten-year plan to see additional revival models and more sports cars.”
Chris Porritt who once led Aston Martin and Rimac’s engineering divisions, will oversee the powertrain development as Bizzarrini’s Chief Technology Officer. The Giotto is rumoured to be powered by a Lamborghini-derived V12.
Shown below is the latest image of the Giotto. You can clearly see how its design has taken inspiration from the 5300 GT, particularly in the shape of the rear glass and the gold wheels.
RIP Giotto Bizzarrini
As a consultant and university lecturer, Giotto remained an influential figure in the industry, working well into his 80s. In 2022, Livorno celebrated his life with a three day event at the Hangar Creativi and awarded him the gold medal of Livorno.
On 13 May 2023, Giotto died aged 96. His wife, Rosanna, died in 2020. He is survived by their two sons, Giuseppe and Pietro and two daughters Elena and Amalia. His funeral was held on 15 May 2023 at the Quercianella church.
About the author: Based in Sussex-by-the-Sea, on England’s south coast, Gary is a creative writer and image-maker. He specialises in creating out of the ordinary portraits of musicians and people with interesting faces, as well as photographing some of the world’s finest flowers and gardens, not forgetting an array of automotive exotica.
On the writing side, he has used his research skills to author deep dives into some noteworthy songs beginning with Bryan Ferry’s ‘These Foolish Things’ ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials, ‘Real Wild Child’ by Ivan and ‘All The Young Dudes’ by Mott the Hoople.
He has also written a biography of Robert Palmer and the stories behind Whitesnake’s blatant Led Zep rip-off, ‘Still Of The Night’, Harry Styles’ anthem to positivity, ‘Treat People With Kindness’ and the little known Queen track ‘Cool Cat.’
Most recently, Gary has penned the fascinating story behind George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four.’ as well as ‘Believe It Or Not’ a look into the rise of fake news.
All these can be found here on Medium, along with his reviews of gigs and events and chats with musicians including the likes of Royal Blood, Joe Satriani and Wolf Alice.
