The 12 Rare Bizzarrini Cars On The Esteemed Lawn

While most people may recognize Ferrari, Lamborghini and Alfa Romeo as premiere Italian cars they may not recognize the name Bizzarrini. The truth is engineer Giotto Bizzarrini worked at each of those marques with his hand in numerous famous cars such as the 250 GTO, Testa Rossa and he designed the Lamborghini V12 engine. This year the esteemed lawn of Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance featured very rare cars built and designed by Bizzarrini.

His very first car, his graduation thesis while at the University of Pisa, was the 1953 Fiat 500 Bizzarrini “Macchinetta” Berlinetta. Upon graduation he drove this to a job interview with none other than Enzo Ferrari, who hired him immediately.

By 1962 after almost a decade working for others he was ready to start his own car company. Working with Milan industrialist, Renzo Rivolta he built a A3/C prototype which showed at the Turin Auto Salon for Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A of Italy. This 1964 Iso Grifo A3/C Berlinetta bodied by Piero Drogo, successfully competed at endurance races throughout the world including 24 Hours of Le Mans, 12 Hours of Sebring, Paris and Monza.

The 1965 Iso Grifo A3/C Catarsi Competition Berlinetta owned by noted collector Bruce Meyer is the most successful Iso Grifo A3/C works race car still around. The 5.4 liter Chevy engine achieved a top speed of 186 mph on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans. Yacht-builder Cantieri Nautici Catarsi is responsible for the light fiberglass body.

Though the A3/Cs did very well in competition, Bizzarrini and Rivolta did not always see eye to eye and they ended their association. In 1966 he built this Bizzarrini P538 Can-Am Catarsi Barchetta for American racer Mike Gammino using the 4 liter Lamborghini V12. The design was unusual, in that FIA regulations decreed the cars had to have a passenger seat and room for luggage, thought is doesn’t look like it here, Bizzarrini put the driver in the center, luggage on the right, passenger on the left.

The 1966 Bizzarrini 5300 Spyder Prototype Stile Italia was built specifically for auto show display. The car can be a full coupe, targa or complete roadster.

The replacement for his “Grifo” is the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada, above is the 1967 Bertone Berlinetta version. Bizzarrini 5300s were some of the most powerful road cars in their day, capable of over 160 mph.

We enjoyed seeing two 1968 Bizzarrini 5300 Spyder Stile Italias.

Once you see this car you’ll never forget the famed cover car of the Road and Track 1969 March Issue, the 1966 Bizzarrini P538 Italdesign Manta Concept. One constant curve from tip to tail offers a 15-degree rake. What looks like louvers on a blind actually stay open for around town driving but can close to improve aerodynamics at speed.

Built towards the end of production this 1969 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada Bertone Berlinetta has the usual combination of 7 inch wheels on the front at 9 inch wheels on the back.

Giotto admittedly is an engineer, not a businessman. Unfortunately a couple of shareholders used their ownership to run a Ponzi scheme which helped put an end to Bizzarrini producing cars. However in 1969 Giotto developed the mid-engine AMX/3 for American Motors working with their in house designer Richard Teague.

This 1969 American Motors AMX/3 Auto Costuzioni S.D. Coupe was the actual test car used by Bizzarrini at the Monza Autodrome.

Of the four AMX/3 protptypes built here we have the 1970 American Motors AMX/3 acquired by Richard Teague from American Motors, later sold and now fully restored and winner of Best of Class at this years Concours d’Elegance. Unfortunately the cars proved too costly to produce for American Motors. Not a surprise, the only American Motors car to win at Pebble Beach, was designed by an Italian.