1967 Bizzarrini 5300 GT

Giotto Bizzarrini, a former Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Iso engineer, founded the Bizzarrini company in the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1968, Bizzarrini produced the Strada, a gran turismo automobile powered by the Corvette's small-block 327 CID engine that offered 365 horsepower in street form. Approximately 120 examples of the GT 5300 Strada (also known as the 5300 GT and 5300 GT Strada) were built.

The Bizzarrini Strada was similar to the limited production grand tourer Grifo automobile manufactured by Italian Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A. between 1965 and 1974. During the planning stages, Bizzarrini used the Grifo name and the Rivolta 300 welded unibody platform.

Bizzarrini teamed up with Renzo Rivolta and his Iso Company in 1962 with the purpose of building sports cars. Bizzarrini was tasked with developing the platform chassis for the Iso Rivolta 2+2 coupe and with fine-tuning the Iso Grifo A3/L into a proper competition car. The A3/L, and later the A3/C, rested on a shortened Rivolta platform chassis and employed the double-wishbone front suspension and DeDion axle.

The engine was placed behind the cockpit, as far back in the chassis as possible, creating as little frontal area as possible and achieving optimal weight balance. Piero Drogo at Sports Car Moden was commissioned to create the trademark riveted aluminum body for Bizzarrini. After being displayed at the Turin Auto Salon in 1963, the A3Cs took part in several races, including the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1,000-km race at Nurburgring. A total of 29 cars would be built.

Around mid-1965, the Bizzarrini and Rivolta relationship was coming to an end. Bizzarrini wanted to improve upon the A3/C Stradale while Rivolta wanted to put it into series production. After the partnership fell apart, Iso continued to deliver parts and Bizzarrini was unable to use the Grifo name. Instead, they were marketed as the Bizzarrini 5300 GT, with the racing versions known as 'Corsa' and the road-going versions as 'Strada.' The 'America' model was soon added to the lineup, wearing a fiberglass body and a double-wishbone rear suspension.

The Strada wore a Giorgetto Giugiaro-influenced Bertone-styled aluminum body in coupe form. A single spyder version was built. Dunlop disc brakes on all four wheels provided the stopping power. The suspension was comprised of a de Dion tube rear setup and the engine was mated to a Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed manual transmission.

Bizzarrini's competition efforts soon focused on the mid-engined P538 models. Three examples were made with the 'spider' body with one being powered by a Lamborghini V-12. The other two cars were powered by a Chevrolet Corvette 5.3-liter V-8 engine that led to the model designation 'P538.'

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2020