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Bizzarrini S.p.A. is an Italian automotive manufacturer: in 1964 it was founded by former
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
,
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
and
Iso ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...
engineer
Giotto Bizzarrini Giotto Bizzarrini (born 6 June 1926 in Quercianella, Livorno Province, Italy) is an Italian automobile engineer who was active from the 1950s through the 1970s. After graduating in 1953, Bizzarrini eventually joined Alfa Romeo as a test driver. ...
. The company built a small number of highly developed and advanced sport and racing automobiles before failing in 1969: in 2020, it was announced that the name had been acquired by Pegasus brands, together with plans to restart production. Originally Prototipi Bizzarrini s.r.l., the name was changed to Bizzarrini S.p.A. in 1966. The physical legacy of the marque is scarce and fragmentary, save for a few extremely well-known and incalculably valuable cars. Notable models include the 5300 GT Strada and the P538S. Attempts to bring back the Bizzarrini name resulted in a number of
concept cars A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or m ...
in the 2000s.


Giotto Bizzarrini

Giotto Bizzarrini Giotto Bizzarrini (born 6 June 1926 in Quercianella, Livorno Province, Italy) is an Italian automobile engineer who was active from the 1950s through the 1970s. After graduating in 1953, Bizzarrini eventually joined Alfa Romeo as a test driver. ...
was born in
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
, Italy in 1926. His father was a rich landowner who came from a family with strong roots in Tuscany and the city of Livorno. His grandfather, also named Giotto Bizzarrini, was a biologist who had worked with
Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italians, Italian inventor and electrical engineering, electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegrap ...
on his inventions, especially the radio, following which one of the Livorno Library sections was named The Bizzarrini Library. Bizzarrini graduated as an engineer in the
University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...
in 1953. He taught briefly before joining Alfa Romeo in 1954. He worked for
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
from 1954 to 1957. He began working for
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
in 1957, eventually becoming controller of experimental, Sports and GT car development. He worked at Ferrari as a developer, designer, test driver, and chief engineer for five years. His developments there included the
Ferrari 250 TR The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, or 250 TR, is a racing sports car built by Ferrari from 1957 to 1961. It was introduced at the end of the 1957 racing season in response to rule changes that enforced a maximum engine displacement of 3 litres for ...
, the
Ferrari 250 GT The Ferrari 250 is a series of sports cars and grand tourers built by Ferrari from 1952 to 1964. The company's most successful early line, the 250 series includes many variants designed for road use or sports car racing. 250 series cars are chara ...
SWB (''Short Wheelbase Berlinetta or Berlinetta Passo Corto''), and the 1962
Ferrari 250 GTO The Ferrari 250 GTO is a GT car produced by Ferrari from 1962 to 1964 for homologation into the FIA's Group 3 Grand Touring Car category. It was powered by Ferrari's ''Tipo 168/62'' Colombo V12 engine. The "250" in its name denotes the disp ...
. Bizzarrini was fired by Ferrari during the "palace revolt" of 1961. He became part of
Automobili Turismo e Sport ATS (Automobili Turismo e Sport) is an Italian automotive constructor. It once had a racing team that operated between 1963 and 1965, formed after the famous " Palace Revolution" at Ferrari. Production history The company was formed by Carlo ...
(ATS)), a company started by the ex-Ferrari engineers to build a Formula 1 single seater and a GT sport car, the A.T.S. Serenissima. One of ATS's financial backers, Count
Giovanni Volpi Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata (born 1938 in Venice, Kingdom of Italy) is an Italian-Algerian nobleman and a former automobile racing manager and Formula One team owner. He inherited a fortune, at the age of 24, from his father, Count Giuseppe ...
, owner of
Scuderia Serenissima Scuderia Serenissima and Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia were names used by Giovanni Volpi to enter his own cars in Formula One and sports car racing in the early 1960s. Scuderia Serenissima was an auto racing team in the early 1960s. Funded ...
, hired Bizzarrini to upgrade a Ferrari 250 GT SWB, with chassis number #2819GT to GTO specifications. This resulted in the Ferrari 250 GT SWB Drogo also known as the "Breadvan". Bizzarrini's engineering company, Societa Autostar, was commissioned to design a V-12 engine for a GT car to be built by another dissatisfied Ferrari customer,
Ferruccio Lamborghini Ferruccio Lamborghini (; 28 April 1916 – 20 February 1993) was an Italian automobile designer, inventor, mechanic, engineer, winemaker, industrialist and businessman who created Automobili Lamborghini in 1963, a maker of high-end sports cars ...
. Lamborghini considered the resulting engine to be too highly strung, and ordered that it be detuned.


Iso Rivolta

Bizzarrini worked since 1964 for
Iso Rivolta ISO Rivolta is an Italian car and motorbike manufacturer active in the motor vehicle sector since 1938. Over the years, the company has taken various names, including Isothermos, Iso Autoveicoli Spa in 1952, Iso Rivolta in 1962, Iso Motors in 1 ...
and developed three models: Iso Rivolta GT,
Iso Grifo ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...
both A3L and A3C versions. His work was to develop a pressed steel frame chassis for Iso cars. Renzo Rivolta hired him as consultant to the Iso Gordon GT project which became the Iso Rivolta GT. The Iso Gordon GT prototype was developed from the
Gordon-Keeble Gordon-Keeble was a British car marque, made first in Slough, then Eastleigh, and finally in Southampton (all in England), between 1964 and 1967. The marque's badge was unusual in featuring a tortoise — a pet tortoise walked into the fram ...
. The Gordon Keeble GT was designed in 1960 by
Giorgetto Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont. Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...
. Bizzarrini tested the car and was impressed by the powerful V8 Corvette engine and the rear
De Dion tube De Dion rear axle A de Dion tube is a form of non-independent automobile suspension. It is a considerable improvement over the swing axle, Hotchkiss drive, or live axle. Because it plays no part in transmitting power to the drive wheels, it is ...
suspension used for the GT. The Iso Rivolta GT was a Giugiaro-designed four-seater with beautiful body, speed, comfort and handling, and was a successful car for Iso, with 799 units sold. Powered by a Chevrolet Corvette V8 engine with a classic De Dion rear suspension design with pressed steel monocoque bodywork over pressed steel frame chassis. Unveiled to the press in 1963, production continued until 1970.


Iso Grifo

The Iso Grifo A3L was a super coupé, the L coming from ''Lusso''. The result of Giugiaro and Bizzarrini working together, it was based on a shortened Iso Rivolta GT chassis and was debuted at the 1963 Turin show. The Grifo epitomised the 1960s Italian style with its handsome low and wide handmade bodywork. It was the fastest production car tested by
Autocar Magazine ''Autocar'' (originally ''The Autocar'') is a weekly British automobile magazine published by the Haymarket Media Group. It was first published in 1895 and refers to itself as "the world's oldest car magazine". There are now several internationa ...
in 1966 with a top speed of . Later versions of the Grifo were powered by a big block
Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...
engine. These 90 handbuilt units are distinguishable by the raised "pagoda style" scoop bonnet. Some of these Iso Grifo 7 Litri units were rebuilt later with even bigger engines. The idea of Bizzarrini was to use the 3AL cars for competition. The competition versions of the Grifo were named Iso Grifo A3C, C for Competizione or Corsa. A new lightweight riveted aluminium body was designed and built by
Piero Drogo Piero Drogo (born in Vignale Monferrato, Alessandria, 8 August 1926 – died in Bologna, 28 April 1973) was a racing driver and coachbuilder from Italy. He participated in one Formula One Grand Prix, debuting at the 1960 Italian Grand Prix. He ...
. It was an aggressively-designed machine, oriented to endurance races. It uses normal Iso underpinnings but the engine was moved further back in the chassis frame than the Grifo A3L, protruding well into the driver's cabin, fitted with hot cams and fed by four big
Weber carburetor Weber Carburetors is an automotive manufacturing company founded in 1923, known for their carburetors. History Eduardo Weber began his automotive career working for Fiat, first at their Turin plant (in 1914) and later at a dealership in Bologna ...
s, giving more than . Around 29 A3C sport cars were built under the Iso name. Five of these 29 cars were bodied in plastic/fiberglass by Piero Drogo at
Carrozzeria Sports Cars Carrozzeria Sports Cars was a small ''carrozzeria'' in Modena, Italy which produced sports and racing car bodies from 1960 until 1971. The company was founded by one-time Formula One driver, Piero Drogo along with coachbuilders Lino Marchesini a ...
in
Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
. A3Cs were widely raced. Some cars entered the 1964 and 1965
Le Mans 24 hour The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...
, 1965
Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
1000 and 1965 Sebring. It achieved a Le Mans class win in both years and a 9th overall in
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
with no factory support. A3Cs were one of the fastest cars on Le Mans'
Mulsanne Straight The Mulsanne Straight (''Ligne Droite des Hunaudières'' in French) is the name used in English for a formerly long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place. Since 1990, the straight is int ...
in both years.


Bizzarrini S.p. A

Due to the complicated deal with Iso, Bizzarrini left in 1964 and founded Societa Prototipi Bizzarrini (Bizzarrini S.p. A), which produced some 140 cars through 1969 at its
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
factory.


Racing

Giotto Bizzarrini was a dedicated race car designer and builder. Likely one of the sources of disagreement between Renzo Rivolta and Giotto Bizzarrini was Bizzarrini's desire to build race cars and Renzo Rivolta's desire to build high quality GT cars and family transportation cars. They decided to part ways in 1964. Bizzarrini had mixed success in racing. The lowlight for Bizzarrini must certainly have been the Sebring 12 Hours on March 27, 1965, where both Iso/Bizzarrini race cars crashed causing serious damage, placing them beyond repair. The highlight came later that same year at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 19–20, 1965 where an Iso Grifo/Bizzarrini won the 5000 cc and over class and was ninth overall. ;Sebring 12 Hours 1965 C. Rino Argento helped Bizzarrini manage the race cars during that terrible week in June 1965 at Sebring. He has written a detailed account of that week, which was originally published in the Griffon, the magazine of the Iso & Bizzarrini Owner's Club. Car No. 8, driven by Silvio Moser, went off track due to brake failure and crashed into a Volkswagen bus. Nobody was injured, but the car was a total loss. Later during a very heavy rain storm car No. 9, driven by Mike Gammino, aquaplaned, hit the pedestrian bridge and split in two. The car split right behind the driver and Mike Gammino did not realize how close he came to being killed until he stepped out of the car. The famous California race car builder
Max Balchowsky Max Balchowsky (January 15, 1924 - August 30, 1998) was a prominent 1950s and 1960s American race car builder and driver, and was involved in the film industry as a stuntman and an automotive mechanic. He is remembered for his crude but spectat ...
was also at Sebring helping the Bizzarrini team. He took all of the pieces of these two Iso/Bizzarrini race cars back to his shop in Southern California with the intention to build one Iso/Bizzarrini from the pieces of the two destroyed cars. This recreated Iso/Bizzarrini race car has never been seen again. There was a morbid end to the week: a plane crash killed Iso and Bizzarrini supporter Mitch Michelmore and his son as they were on their way back to California. Michelmore "had a Chevrolet dealership in Reseda, California and he had sold quite a few Iso Rivoltas; he was enthusiastic about the cars and interested in the racing version (the Grifos) and was seriously considering a sales activity for them in this country", according to C. Rino Argento. Argento summed up the week: “This was the end of a terrible week and the pain was unbearable for me, the organizer of this adventure! In great part because of my initiative and planning all these people had congregated at Sebring for what was supposed to be a fun, interesting, successful, and profitable race and it turned out to be a human and material disaster!”


5300 Strada

In 1966 Bizzarrini S.p.A. released a street legal Grifo A3C as the '' Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada'' (or ''Bizzarrini 5300 GT America'', depending on the market). The body shape and mechanical parts were much the same as the Iso A3Cs, resulting in a coupe that is in height. At least three 5300s were turned out as Style Italia-designed spyder/targa versions, all of which survive and are currently owned by the same person.


1900 GT Europa

Bizzarrini also managed a scaled-down 5300 GT project. Designed for GM-Opel, it was based on the Opel 1900 platform. Bizzarrini's proposal was more aggressive and attractive in appearance, like a small 5300 GT. The production
Opel GT The Opel GT is a front-engine, rear-drive two-seat sports car manufactured and marketed by Opel in two generations — separated by a 34-year hiatus. The first generation Opel GT (1968 –1973) debuted as a styling exercise in 1965 at the Pa ...
was designed by factory stylists and was less aggressive, but still beautiful. Bizzarrini then decided to build the car on his own. Around 17 prototypes were completed. The car is officially named as the Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa. One of these cars has a '' barchetta'' ("little boat") body. Some cars are powered by 1.3 L and 1.6 L four-cylinder engines sourced from General Motors, Alfa Romeo and
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
. There is even a highly developed racing version with a
SPICA Spica is the brightest object in the constellation of Virgo and one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation α Virginis, which is Latinised to Alpha Virginis and abbreviated Alpha Vir or α Vir. Analys ...
fuel injection system.


P538S

Bizzarrini's advanced ideas emerged again with the superb Bizzarrini P538S, ''P'' for posteriore, ''53'' for the 5300 cc Corvette engine, ''8'' for V8 engine and ''S'' for Sportcar. The first V-12 car was ordered by American racer Mike Gammino. This Barchetta raced in the 1966 Le Mans (DNF) and was even entered in 1967, but did not start (DNQ). In 1966, after a spin at the start line, it lasted less than a half an hour and retired due to a cracked oil line. During the short race time, the P538 was clocked as one of the fastest cars on the Mulsanne Straight. In 1968, Giugiaro rebuilt one of the P538 bodies as the famous Bizzarrini Manta. After some years in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, it was dismantled for an extensive restoration. Later featured in various classics car events, it is now in the United States.


Post Bizzarrini S.p. A


AMX/3

Seven complete AMC AMX/3 cars and nine chassis are known to survive. Some remaining parts from the canceled, second group of five cars were used by erstwhile Bizzarrini collaborator
Salvatore Diomante Salvatore Diomante is an automobile engineer and restorer, best known as Bizzarrini's factory manager in the 1960s. Diomante resides in Nichelino, Italy and operates Autocostruzioni S.D., where he keeps parts, special tools and original moulds f ...
to assemble the sixth car, named and marketed as Sciabola. Bizzarrini used the 8th AMX/3 chassis to build the Iso Varedo. Additionally, an open two-seat
Spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
featuring no weather protection was built in the 1990s using an unfinished AMX/3 modified chassis and the 7th AMX/3, on display at the Autoworld Museum in Belgium, were both finished by Giorgio Giordanengo. This was the ultimate evolution of the P538 and Bizzarrini 5300 GT chassis.


P538S

Officially, three or four chassis were originally built in period, destined to race in the United States by Mike Gammino and Le Mans. Today, not less than a dozen (or more) chassis are in existence, some of these replicas claiming to be the real cars raced in Le Mans. At least two of the replicas are
Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...
V12 powered. These V12 powered cars were truly the long-awaited Bizzarrini dream — his own engine and chassis.


BZ-2001

In 1990, Bizzarrini was involved in the design of a one-off supercar model. Based on
Ferrari Testarossa The Ferrari Testarossa (Type F110) is a 12-cylinder mid-engine sports car manufactured by Ferrari, which went into production in 1984 as the successor to the Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer. The Pininfarina-designed car was originally produced from ...
components, Bizzarrini and his team designed an amazing and superb car. The car was showed to the public for the first time at Pebble Beach in 1993. The car’s design is inspired to Bizzarrini 5300 GT Spyder but the Bizzarrini BZ-2001 is also considered as the true successor of the P538. To build the car were invested about 3 millions dollars, an astronomical amount for that time. The car was the first one of a planned production run, but it remained the only one ever produced. The performance of the car 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds was remarkable in the early 90’s, it was even faster than the Ferrari F40. The car was exposed in many famous international locations during the years and won numerous prizes in many contests. The car, for its beauty and rarity, became early a special collector’s item. In year 2021 the car has been sold from a renowned specialist and expert in Bizzarrini’s cars to a swiss collector.


Picchio Barchetta

In 1989 a group of young friends living in Ascoli Piceno, with a strong passion for motor sport, had the idea to establish a company constructing "copies" of the cars manufactured in the past by Giotto Bizzarrini. During their first encounter, the Tuscan motor genius expressed a kind of animosity towards this idea; he refused to support the project and he turned the group of friends out. Nevertheless, their motivation was so strong that, after a short briefing of about half an hour, they presented an alternative proposal — to construct a sports car. The result was the Picchio Barchetta, powered by BMW engines. The cars were successfully raced in the Italian Hillclimb Championship and Italian Sport Championship.


Kjara

The Kjara project was born in 1998. The Scuderia Bizzarrini built this sport barchetta in close collaboration with Leone Martellucci of University La Sapienza of Roma. The car is powered by a parallel hybrid propulsion system with a 2.5 litre TurboDiesel
Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...
engine and a AC electric drive; it was shown at
Turin Auto Show The Turin Motor Show ( it, Salone dell'Automobile di Torino) was an auto show held annually in Turin, Italy. The first official show took place between 21 and 24 April 1900, at the Castle of Valentino, becoming a permanent fixture in Turin from ...
2000. In 2005, the Bizzarrini GT Strada 4.1 concept was shown at the Geneva Motor Show. This two-door GT with a 4.1-litre 550 bhp (410 kW; 558 PS) plant, producing a maximum speed 360 km/h (220 mph), 0–100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, planned for production in 2007. In 2008, the German designer, Stefan Schulze, proposed the Bizzarrini P358 Barchetta Prototype, a contemporary, ultra-light two-seater. On October 23, 2012, the occasion of the inauguration of the University of Florence new Design Campus in Calenzano, Professor Giotto Bizzarrini was given the Honoris Causa Degree in Industrial Design.


Refoundation

In 2020, the rights to the Bizzarrini name were acquired by Pegasus Brands. The reborn company announced plans to revive the marque with new models that acknowledge Giotto Bizzarrini's racing and design heritage.


References

* Jack Koobs de Hartog/ Rodolphe de Biolley/ Olczyk Philippe: ''Bizzarrini: The Man, his Projects and His Cars''. . * Winston Goodfellow: ''Iso Rivolta, The Man, The Machines''. Motorbooks International 2001. . * Flavio Campetti: ''Da Iso a Isorivolta: il fascino di un marchio''. Giorgio Nada. . * ''ISO and BIZZARRINI Gold Portfolio 1962–1974''. Brookland Books. . * Eliguisz Mazur ed.: "World of Cars - Worldwide Car Catalogue". Media Connection SP. Z O.O ISSN 1734-2945


Notes


External links


Bizzarrini Flickr Group

Wheels Of Italy - Bizzarrini

My Car QuestIso Bizzarrini - The remarkable history of A3/C 0222Bizzarrini press releases
{{Automotive industry in Italy Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Italy Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1964 Italian companies established in 1964 Sports car manufacturers Companies based in Tuscany Livorno Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Italian racecar constructors no:Iso Grifo sv:Iso Rivolta Grifo 24 Hours of Le Mans teams