Bizzarrini, the connoisseur’s Italian carmaker, is back. We blag a go in the ‘new’ 5300 GT Corsa
WORDS JASON BARLOW PHOTOGRAPHY JONNY FLEETWOOD
HEADLINER
Giotto Bizzarrini doesn’t just have arguably the finest name in automotive history, he’s also responsible for some of the hands down coolest cars ever made. And engines. But unless you’re a fully paid-up Italian car nerd, the chances are you’ve never heard of him. He’s still alive, a sprightly 96, having done the hard yards first at Alfa Romeo before joining Ferrari. He’s widely acknowledged as one of the principal architects of the Le Mans-winning 250 Testa Rossa, conceived the 250 GT SWB, and oversaw the development of the fabled 250 GTO, before becoming embroiled in 1961’s infamous ‘Palace Revolt’. When Enzo Ferrari fired his commercial director Girolami Gardini, Bizzarrini was one of five of the Old Man’s key lieutenants to walk out in sympathy. There was stubborn pride on all sides in Maranello back then. You can just picture those jutting, indignant jawlines.
Giotto, an equally gifted engineer, designer and test driver, was swiftly very busy. He worked on the ATS 2500 GT, the first mid-engined Italian supercar, alongside former Ferrari colleague Carlo Chiti, before founding Società Autostar in 1962. He designed the V12 that gave Lamborghini its inimitable mojo, and co-developed the captivating Iso Grifo for Renzo Rivolta. Further fallings out led him finally to establish Bizzarrini in 1965, and to the car you see here, the 5300 GT Corsa, a race-bred evolution of the Grifo A3C. Kind of a greatest hits of Italian supercardom up to that point, with a body designed by a young Giorgetto Giugiaro. Doesn’t get much better than that.
That’s certainly how it feels behind the wheel, although this isn’t a car so much as a trip through the looking glass. Bizzarrini, you see, has recently been reactivated, recipient of venture capital and the backing of a wealthy benefactor in the UAE. What you see here is the latest, and perhaps most intriguing, in the modish wave of continuation cars that various big names have been dabbling in these past few years. The ‘new’ Bizzarrinis will be constructed by British motorsport and engineering specialist RML using factory blueprints, with input from surviving employees and materials from original suppliers. There will be 24 in total, each costing £1.65m before tax and options.
Apparently, an extremely well known American sporting icon is on the list, and there’s bound to be some Japanese billionaire who’ll crane one into the penthouse of his Tokyo skyscraper and just
