1968 Bizzarrini 5300 Strada

Giotto Bizzarrini honed his talents while working for some of the industry's most renowned companies. After graduating from the University of Pisa in 1953, Bizzarrini found employment with Alfa Romeo and was soon appointed to the experimental department. His next opportunity was with Ferrari, where he was instrumental in the creation of the 250 Testa Rossa, the 250 SWB, and the 250 GTO.

In the early 1960s, several senior staff members left Ferrari, including Bizzarrini, over disputes with the company and Enzo Ferrari himself. These defectors formed ATS, intending to build a Ferrari rival. Bizzarrini soon left the new organization to go into business for himself. One of his earliest solo commissions was from Italian industrialist Ferruccio Lamborghini, for whom he designed the Lamborghini V-12 engine. In addition, Count Volpi, of Scuderia Serenissima, selected Bizzarrini for the project that gave rise to the Piero Drogo-bodied Ferrari 250 GT SWB 'Breadvan' derivative. Other commissions came from Milanese industrialist Renzo Rivolta, who desired to build a GT car of his own. Bizzarrini assisted in developing the platform-type chassis for the Iso Rivolta GT prototype. The Iso Grifo soon followed on a shortened Rivolta chassis.

With the success of the Grifo, Bizzarrini began work on his own version of the Grio for competition. At the 1964 and 1965 24 Hours of LeMans, the Bizzarrini-prepared Grifo would score class victories in the GT category. Another dispute with his colleagues, this time Rivolta, resulted in Bizzarrini and Rivolta parting ways. Bizzarrini had legally registered the Grifo name, so a deal was reached where Rivolta continued to build road-going Grifos while Bizzarrini received enough parts to build A3Cs, in both Strada road-going form and Corsa variants for racing.

The Bertone-designed 5300 GT Strada was a car built for the street using specifications that were more commonly used on all-out competition cars. They had lightweight aluminum bodywork by BBM, of Modena, a fabricated platform chassis, and a semi-monocoque body riveted to the frame. The front/mid-mounted Chevrolet V-8 engine displaced 5.3 liters and produced between 335 and 400 horsepower. The top speed was in the neighborhood of 180 mph, making it one of the fastest road-going cars of its era. Since Bizzarrini was primarily focused on racing, few examples of the road-going version were built during its six-year production run.

The 5300 GT and the A3/C had the same chassis, engine, and body style. The main differences were cosmetic, with the 5300GT using aluminum for the bodywork by BBM while the A3/C used Drogo's Sports Cars of Modena for its coachwork. A bumper strip and other cosmetic changes helped distinguish these two vehicles.

Three examples were built with open Spyder bodies. One example was on display at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show. The Spiders wore alloy coachwork developed at Turin's Stile Italia under the supervision of Bizzarrini.

The 5300 Corsa had glass-fiber bodywork, and the headlights were covered with plastic. A leather retraining strap was used to keep the hood secure. The interiors were Spartan, devoid of non-essential amenities and items, helping achieve an 1190 kg dry weight. Engine modifications included polished ports and combustion chambers, high-carbon connecting rods, modified camshafts, and a free-flow exhaust system.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2020