1965 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada Coupe

Giotto Bizzarrini of Livorno, Tuscany, graduated from the University of Pisa in July 1953 with a degree in mechanical engineering. Early in Bizzarrini's career, he joined Alfa Romeo and moved swiftly through the ranks and advancing to the experimental department, where he helped develop the Giulietta and became a skilled test driver.

Bizzarrini later worked for Ferrari as a test driver, but his engineering skills quickly became apparent, and he was made the head of the experimental department. While with Ferrari, Bizzarrini became largely responsible for the development of the 250 Testa Rossa, the Spider California, the 250 SWB, and the 250 GTO.

In November of 1961, Ferrari's sales manager, Gerolamo Gardini, was dismissed. This resulted in a mass departure of key engineering and development staff, including Bizzarrini. The individuals who left came together to form ATS. With significant financial backing, their goal was to rival Ferrari with a Formula One team, including advanced mid-engine GT road cars and lightweight sports racers. The young company soon found itself with factions amongst the ranks, and Bizzarrini left when a buyout offer was presented by one of the shareholders.

While working with ATS, Bizzarrini had his own consulting firm, which became known as Autostar. Count Giovanni Volpi was one of his earliest clients for whom he built the 250 SWB derivative, the 'Breadvan.' He later designed the original 3.5-liter V-12 for Ferruccio Lamborghini and did development work on the ASA 1000 GT. Another client of Bizzarrini's was Milanese industrialist Renzo Rivolta, of Isothermos and Isetta fame. Bizzarrini worked closely with Iso's chief technician, Pierluigi Raggi, in developing a sophisticated platform-type chassis for the 2+2 Iso Rivolta GT. The engine and transmission were sourced from a Chevrolet Corvette. In 1962, after an exhaustive amount of development work, the Iso Rivolta GT made its debut at the Turin Show, with production following in 1963.

The Rivolta was followed by the two-seat Grifo, based on a shortened Rivolta chassis. Two variants of the Grifo were shown at the model's debut at the 1963 Turin Auto Show. The Grifo A3/L ('L' for lusso, or luxury) was on the Bertone stand, while the other, the A3/C ('C' for corsa, or competition) debuted on the Iso stand. The A3/C version was built by Bizzarrini in his Autostar Works in Livorno. Both examples of the Grifo had Giugiaro-designed coachwork along with Chevrolet Corvette V8 power.

For 18 months, Bizzarrini made his version of the Grifo under agreement with Iso. The car could reach 190 mph on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans. The Bizzarrini-built Grifos won the GT class at LeMans in 1964 and again in 1965.

Bizzarrini wanted to focus on racing while Rivolta wanted to concentrate on production. This became a conflict in the relationship which led to a deal being struck in the summer of 1965. Bizzarrini would continue to build the cars under his own name in the 'Strada' road-going form, as well as 'Corsa' variants for racing.

The Bizzarrini Strada was a street car with the design and mechanical components of a competition car. They had lightweight aluminum bodywork, a fabricated platform chassis, and a semi-monocoque body riveted to the frame. They had near-perfect weight distribution and the Chevrolet V8 engine offered between 350 and 420 horsepower. The top speed was in the neighborhood of 180 mph.

Despite the mechanical prowess and stunning looks, very few were produced during an approximate six-year production run. It is believed that between 100 and 149 Iso Grifo A3s and Bizzarrini 5300 GT Stradas and GT Americas, including approximately 70 alloy-bodied Strada examples, were produced. The lack of a reliable coachbuilder to supply the car bodies was one of the reasons production remained low. The other primary reason was that Bizzarrini unknowingly took on two shareholders who ran a sophisticated pyramid scheme.

Chassis IA3 0234
In the early 1970s, this car was acquired by Ted Field. In August 1974, ownership passed to Barnet Bonar of Los Altos in the San Francisco Bay Area, remaining in the family until 2003. Terry Healey acquired the car for a client in Australia. The decision was made to restore the car, but progress was lagging and the Bizzarrini was purchased by its current owner in a disassembled state in March 2012.

The car was shipped to Bobileff Motorcar Company in San Diego, California, for an extensive restoration.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2014