This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(September 2023) |
Industry | Automotive |
---|---|
Founded | 1964, Livorno, Italy |
Founder | Giotto Bizzarrini |
Key people |
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Products | Sports cars |
Owner | Rezam Al Roumi |
Parent | Pegasus Automotive Group |
Website | www |
Bizzarrini S.p.A. was an Italian automotive manufacturer. In 1964, the company was founded by former Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Iso engineer Giotto Bizzarrini. The company built a small number of highly developed and advanced sports 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. Notable models include the 5300 GT Strada, 5300 GT Spyder S.I., and the P538S. Attempts to bring back the Bizzarrini name resulted in a number of concept cars in the 2000s.
Giotto Bizzarrini was born in Livorno, 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 on his inventions, especially the radio, following which one of the Livorno Library sections was named The Bizzarrini Library.
Bizzarrini graduated as an engineer at the University of Pisa in 1953. He taught briefly before joining Alfa Romeo in 1954. He worked for Alfa Romeo from 1954 to 1957. He began working for Ferrari 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 GT SWB (Short Wheelbase Berlinetta or Berlinetta Passo Corto), and the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO.
Bizzarrini was fired by Ferrari during the "palace revolt" of 1961. He became part of Automobili Turismo e Sport (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, owner of Scuderia Serenissima, 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. Lamborghini considered the resulting engine to be too highly strung, and ordered that it be detuned.
Bizzarrini worked since 1964 for Iso Rivolta and developed three models: Iso Rivolta GT, Iso Grifo 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. The Gordon Keeble GT was designed in 1960 by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Bizzarrini tested the car and was impressed by the powerful V8 Corvette engine and the rear De Dion tube suspension used for the GT.
The Iso Rivolta GT was a Giugiaro-designed four-seater and was a successful car for Iso, with 799 units sold. Powered by a 327 cu in (5.36 L) 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.
The Iso Grifo A3L is a V8 powered 2-door coupe, 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. It was the fastest production car tested by Autocar Magazine in 1966 with a top speed of 160 mph (260 km/h). Later versions of the Grifo were powered by a big block Chevrolet Corvette 435 bhp (324 kW; 441 PS) 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. 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 carburetors, giving more than 400 bhp (298 kW; 406 PS).
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 in Modena. A3Cs were widely raced. Some cars entered the 1964 and 1965 Le Mans 24 hour, 1965 Nürburgring 1000 and 1965 Sebring. It achieved a Le Mans class win in both years and a 9th overall in 1965 with no factory support. A3Cs were one of the fastest cars on Le Mans' Mulsanne Straight in both years.
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 factory.
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.[ citation needed ] 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.
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. [1]
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 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!” [1]
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 43 inches (1.09 m) in height. [2]
Only three Bizzarrini GT 5300s Spyder S.I were built starting in 1966, Under Ing Giotto Bizzarrini supervision were turned out by Stile Italia (S.I) D'Iseglio -Ex Engineer of (Berton) and Sibona e Basano (SB) Ex-Chief Metalsmith & Ex Mold maker (Ghia). This 1966 Bizzarrini GT 5300 Spyder S.I (Prototype) was one of the stars at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, shown as a spyder/targa versions, all three still survive today and two currently owned by the same person. https://bizzarrinispyder.com/. [3]
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 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. There is even a highly developed racing version with a SPICA fuel injection system.
Bizzarrini's advanced ideas emerged again with the Bizzarrini P538S, P for posteriore, 53 for the 5300 cc Corvette engine, 8 for V8 engine and S for Sports car. 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 Bizzarrini Manta. After some years in Sweden, it was dismantled for an extensive restoration. Later featured in various classics car events, it is now in the United States.
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 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 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. [4] This was the ultimate evolution of the P538 and Bizzarrini 5300 GT chassis.
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 V12 powered. These V12 powered cars were truly the long-awaited Bizzarrini dream — his own engine and chassis.
In 1990, Bizzarrini was involved in the design of a one-off supercar model based on Ferrari Testarossa chassis and running gear with a carbon fiber body. [5] The car was shown to the public for the first time at Pebble Beach in 1993. It was designed by a team led by car designer Barry Watkins, with the design being inspired by the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Spyder, although it is also considered to be the true successor to the P538.[ citation needed ] About 3 million dollars was invested to build the car, an astronomical amount for that time. The car was planned to be put in production, but it remained the only one ever produced. In 2021, the car was sold from a specialist and expert in Bizzarrini's cars to a Swiss collector.
In 1989 a group of young friends living in Ascoli Piceno, with a passion for motorsport, had the idea to establish a company constructing "copies" of the cars manufactured in the past by Giotto Bizzarrini. During their first encounter, Bizzarrini expressed a kind of animosity towards this idea; he refused to support the project and he turned the group of friends out.[ citation needed ] 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.[ citation needed ] The result was the Picchio Barchetta, powered by BMW engines. The cars were successfully raced in the Italian Hillclimb Championship and Italian Sport Championship.
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 engine and a 40 kW (54 hp) AC electric drive; it was shown at Turin Auto Show in 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. [6]
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. [7]
Giorgetto Giugiaro 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 into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002. He was awarded the Compasso d'Oro industrial design award six times.
ASA was an Italian automobile manufacturer active from 1961 to 1969, who is known for manufacturing the ASA 1000 GT. This car was developed by Ferrari engineers in the late 1950s as a less expensive, compact alternative to existing Ferrari GT cars. ASA used inline-four and straight-six engines derived from the "250" 3-litre V12 designed by Gioacchino Colombo. The chassis was developed by Giotto Bizzarrini and was derived from the tubular frame chassis of the 250 GTO.
The Ferrari 250 GTO is a grand tourer 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 displacement in cubic centimeters of each of its cylinders; "GTO" stands for Gran Turismo Omologato, Italian for "Grand Touring Homologated".
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 characterized by their use of a 3.0 L (2,953 cc) Colombo V12 engine designed by Gioacchino Colombo. The 250 series designation refers to this engine's cylinder displacement of approximately 250 cc. They were replaced by the 275 and 330 series cars.
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 1973 and, in 2017, a return to ISO Rivolta.
The Ferrari P was a series of Italian sports prototype racing cars produced by Ferrari during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Giotto Bizzarrini was an Italian automobile engineer who was active from the 1950s through the 1970s.
The Bizzarrini Strada, is a sports car produced by Bizzarrini from 1964 to 1968. Sold as a low slung, two-seat coupé, roadster, and track-tuned "Corsa" racer, it proved to be Bizzarrini's most successful model.
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 and Celso Cavalieri. As the public face of the company, Drogo's name became synonymous with the cars produced by C.S.C., which are often referred to as "Drogo" bodies or designs. The workshop constructed bodies for many companies, racing teams and individuals including Scuderia Ferrari, Scuderia Serenissima, Iso and Giotto Bizzarrini. Financial difficulties led to the closure of Carrozzeria Sports Cars in 1971.
The Ferrari 250 GT SWB Breadvan is a one-off Ferrari made in 1962 from a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta SWB, chassis number 2819 GT. It was built to compete against the new 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and other FIA World Sportscar Championship races.
The Iso Grifo is a limited production grand tourer manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A. between 1965 and 1974. Intended to compete with Grand Touring offerings from Ferrari and Maserati, it used a series of American power trains and components supplied by Chevrolet and Ford. Styling was done by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone, while the mechanicals were the work of Giotto Bizzarrini.
The Turin Motor Show is 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 1938 having shared it with Milan and Rome until that time. From 1972, the show was held biannually and in 1984, it moved into Fiat's shuttered Lingotto factory.
The Iso Rivolta is a grand tourer introduced in 1962 by Italian automobile manufacturer Iso Automotoveicoli S.p.A. Company chairman Renzo Rivolta and his colleague, former Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, saw it as a gran turismo in the original sense of the term, designed for long and memorable journeys. It was the first luxury automobile introduced by the company which formerly specialised in affordable motor vehicles. For motor racing, an entirely different variant was made which bore a strong resemblance to the 1962 model Ferrari 250 GT SWB Breadvan and was homologated as a touring car.
Renzo Rivolta was an Italian Engineer.
Neri and Bonacini, also known as Nembo, was a small carrozzeria and mechanic shop based in Modena, Italy, active from the late 1950s to around 1967. Founded and run by Giorgio Neri and Luciano Bonacini, the shop worked on and produced bodies for Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati road and race cars, both in an official capacity for those manufacturers and for private owners. Their best known projects are the Ferrari 250 GT-based Nembo spiders and the Lamborghini 400GT Monza. Neri and Bonacini also designed a car under their own name, the Neri and Bonacini Studio GT Due Litri. Two prototypes of this car were made between 1966 and 1968 but it never entered series production. The shop closed around 1967 when Bonacini went to work for De Tomaso and Neri started his own shop, Motors-World-Machines (MWM).
The Ferrari 330 TRI/LM Spyder is a unique racing sports car purpose-built in 1962 by Ferrari to achieve victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was the last Ferrari racing sports car with a front-mounted engine and the last of a series of Ferrari race cars known as the Testa Rossas. The "I" in its designation indicates that the car has an independent rear suspension.
The Ferrari 250 GT Coupé represented a series of road-going, grand touring cars produced by Ferrari between 1954 and 1960. Presented at the 1954 Paris Motor Show, the 250 Europa GT was the first in the GT-lineage. The design by Pinin Farina was seen as a more civilised version of their sporty Berlinetta 250 MM. Series built cars were an answer to the wealthy clientele demands of a sporty and luxurious Ferrari Gran Turismo, that is also easier to use daily.
The Dino 206 S is a sports prototype produced by Ferrari in 1966–1967 under the Dino marque. Ferrari intended to produce at least fifty examples for homologation by the CSI in the Sport 2.0 L Group 4 category. As only 18 were made, the car had to compete in the Prototype 2.0-litre class instead. In spite of this handicap the Dino 206 S took many class wins. The 206 S was the last of the Dino sports racing cars and simultaneously the most produced.
The AMC AMX/3 is a mid-engine sports car produced by the American carmaker American Motors Corporation (AMC), which was presented to the Italian press in March 1970 and was to be produced in Germany by Karmann starting in 1971. AMC wanted to compete with the similarly designed De Tomaso Pantera that Ford marketed in the United States. The car's body and drivetrain were originated and developed by AMC, and Dick Teague designed the car. AMC consulted and partnered with Italian suppliers to build the chassis and suspension.
The Bizzarrini Manta is a concept car designed by Italdesign, which was presented to the public in 1968. The body designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in the so-called one-box style is considered to be groundbreaking for the design of later mid-engine sports cars. According to the manufacturer, the frame and chassis come from a Bizzarrini P538, the engine is a high-volume eight-cylinder Chevrolet.