1976 Bizzarrini P538 Roadster

During the 1950s, Giotto Bizzarrini was a test driver for Alfa Romeo. He later contributed to the Giulietta's chassis before taking a job at Ferrari, where he helped develop the Testa Rossa. He was also the team leader responsible for creating the 250 GTO. Never quite satisfied with his employers, he left Ferrari to open his own consultancy in 1962. Partnering with Iso, the engineer who designed the Grifo and Rivolta projects, led to a friendship with the designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro.

By 1963, Bizzarrini was building cars under his own name, developing Iso's A3/C into his 5300 Strada and Corsa models.

At the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, Bizzarrini entered a racing spider clothed in a body penned by Giugiaro and powered by a 5.3-liter Chevy V8 engine. It was called the P538 (in reference to its 5.3-liter eight-cylinder engine and its posterior placement), and conformed to FIA prototype regulations. The car had the driver positioned in the center, with the passenger seat as a pod to the left and a luggage area in a similar compartment to the right.

The P538 had immense potential, but Bizzarrini's mismanagement and changes in the racing formula conspired against it. Finances dwindled, eventually forcing him to declare bankruptcy, and the company's holdings were sold off in 1970. Had circumstances been different, the P538 would have had a short European endurance racing career, as the FIA changed displacement limits to a three-liter formula beginning in 1968. The P538 still had potential in Can-Am and other Formula Libre venues.

Bizzarrini foreman Salvatore Diomante was later approached to build several new cars, which differed in minor ways from Bizzarrini's original build technique. It is believed that Bizzarrini contributed to many of these cars, employing his wife, Rosanna, to help with body fabrication. The exact number of Diomante-built P538s is still being debated. Four cars were produced by Bizzarrini during the 1960s. Three additional cars, including this example, were built by him and his wife, Rosanna, during the following decade. Two of which were built at Diomante in Turin during this time. Diomante also built additional P538s in the 1980s and 1990s, though it is currently unclear how many have been produced since that time.

This particular example was discovered in France in the early 1990s. It was purchased by Roger Hurst of Kent, United Kingdom, who re-sold it in 1995 to its current caretaker. A full restoration to period specifications began in the late 2000s, totaling approximately $250,000. The work included sourcing a period-correct 5.3-liter Corvette engine and rebuilding it to proper specifications. The completed car was finished in metallic blue with a dark red leather interior, the same color used by Lamborghini in period.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2015