Bizzarrini S.p.A. was an Italian automotive manufacturer. In 1964, the company was founded by former Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Iso engineer Giotto Bizzarrini.

The company built a small number of highly developed and advanced sports and racing automobiles before failing in 1969.

In 2020, it was announced that the name had been acquired by Pegasus brands, together with plans to restart production.

Bizzarrini graduated as an engineer at the University of Pisa in 1953. He taught briefly before joining Alfa Romeo in 1954. He worked for Alfa Romeo from 1954 to 1957. He began working for Ferrari in 1957, eventually becoming controller of experimental, Sports and GT car development. He worked at Ferrari as a developer, designer, test driver, and chief engineer for five years. His developments there included the Ferrari 250 TR, the Ferrari 250 GT SWB (Short Wheelbase Berlinetta or Berlinetta Passo Corto), and the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO.

Bizzarrini was fired by Ferrari during the "palace revolt" of 1961. He became part of Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS)), a company started by the ex-Ferrari engineers to build a Formula 1 single seater and a GT sport car, the A.T.S. Serenissima.

One of ATS's financial backers, Count Giovanni Volpi, owner of Scuderia Serenissima, hired Bizzarrini to upgrade a Ferrari 250 GT SWB, with chassis number #2819GT to GTO specifications. This resulted in the Ferrari 250 GT SWB Drogo also known as the "Breadvan".

Bizzarrini worked since 1964 for Iso Rivolta and developed three models: Iso Rivolta GT, Iso Grifo both A3L and A3C versions. His work was to develop a pressed steel frame chassis for Iso cars. Renzo Rivolta hired him as consultant to the Iso Gordon GT project which became the Iso Rivolta GT. The Iso Gordon GT prototype was developed from the Gordon-Keeble. The Gordon Keeble GT was designed in 1960 by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Bizzarrini tested the car and was impressed by the powerful V8 Corvette engine and the rear De Dion tube suspension used for the GT.

The Iso Rivolta GT was a Giugiaro-designed four-seater and was a successful car for Iso, with 799 units sold. Powered by 5.36 L Chevrolet Corvette V8 engine with a classic De Dion rear suspension design with pressed steel monocoque bodywork over pressed steel frame chassis. Unveiled to the press in 1963, production continued until 1970.

Due to the complicated deal with Iso, Bizzarrini left in 1964 and founded Societa Prototipi Bizzarrini (Bizzarrini S.p. A), which produced some 140 cars through 1969 at its Livorno factory.

strada

The Bizzarrini Strada (also 5300 GT Strada and 5300 GT), is a sports car produced by Bizzarrini from 1964 to 1968. Sold as a low slung, two-seat coupé, roadster, and track-tuned "Corsa" racer, it proved to be Bizzarrini's most successful model.

It was similar in concept to the Iso Grifo, also designed by Bizzarrini, and even used the Grifo name while in the planning stage, as well as the welded unibody platform of the Iso Rivolta 300.

The Strada – which adopted a Front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout – was powered by a 327 Chevrolet small-block engine displacing 5.4 L  and rated at 365 hp to 385 N⋅m of torque in the road legal version and 400 hp  in the Corsa. The engine was intentionally placed as far back over the front axle as possible, to improve weight distribution and handling. The car could accelerate 0–100 km/h  in less than 7 seconds, and attained a top speed of 280 km/h. In later models, the 5358 cc engine was replaced by a larger 7000 cc unit, fitted with a Holley carburetor.

In total 133 were built.

5300 gt s.i. spyder

The Bizzarrini 5300 GT S.I. Spyder was a series of three cars created in 1966 based on the Strada Chassis. They were designed under Ing. Giotto Bizzarrini supervision by mostly unknown carrozzeria Stile Italia (S.I.), D'Iseglio -Ex Engineer of (Berton) on via Governolo 28 in Torino, and built in cooperation with Sibona & Basano (SB) Ex-Chief Metalsmith & Ex Mold maker (Ghia) .

The name Spyder had an "y" in it for marketing reasons, because it is not part of the Italian alphabet.

The first appearance was at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966, after a traffic accident of the transporter who brought the car(s) to the show. Of the three Spyders built, one (the prototype) is painted silver where it is featured as the only (Prototype) automobile offered as a Coupe, Targa and is a full convertible Roadster, while the other two feature removable T-tops with a center bar running through the middle of the roof.

The engine was a Chevrolet 327 V8 with four Weber carburetors. The Spyders also have other modifications to the bodywork, including subtly redesigned front ends and larger luggage compartments. A series of 100 examples had been planned, but only two found buyers.

europa

The Bizzarrini Europa is a small grand tourer produced by Bizzarrini between 1966 and 1969.

The Europa was intended to be a smaller, lower cost alternative to the more expensive Strada model that would take Bizzarrini into volume production and compete with sports cars from Alfa Romeo and Lancia.^[1] However, due to the bankruptcy of Bizzarrini in 1969, production of the Europa ended after only a handful of cars were built.

Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa rear view

Originally powered by a 1481 cc Fiat inline-four engine, the car officially became the Europa with the introduction of an 1897 cc Opel engine. The 1.9L engine was mounted behind the front axle, like in the Strada, and produced around 110 hp, allowing the Europa to reach a claimed top speed of 206 km/h.

The Europa also featured a fiberglass body, penned by Bizzarrini designer Pietro Vanni, independent front and rear suspension, a limited-slip differential and four wheel disc brakes. Between 12 and 17 examples were said to have been built by Bizzarrini; the definitive number is unknown, as the factory did not keep records. However, some cars, sources say around 20, were assembled in the late 1960s and early 1970s using Europa parts and unused chassis from the Bizzarrini factory after they went bankrupt. However, these cars were not assembled by Bizzarrini themselves.

p538/p538s

The P538 or P538S was a rear-engined race car launched in late 1965 or early 1966 by Scuderia Bizzarrini of Livorno, Italy.

The cars used five-speed manual transaxles with gearing specific to the race for which each car was constructed. Braking was via inboard four wheel disc brakes, with a fully independent suspension. The body was made of fiberglass over a tubular steel chassis.

Only 3 spider cars were produced by Bizzarrini. # P538*001, # P538*002 and # P538*003. #001 with Lamborghini V12 engine. That car crashed during tests and the history ended right there, because the chassis was cut up. The Lamborghini engine and running gear were removed and re-used on #002.

There also  is the white closed P538 Duca d' Aosta with chassis number # 262 974, but that car never had a spider body. So 3 spiders in red and 1 coupe built in white. These were the original P538's.

Beginning in the mid-1970s and continuing at least through the 1990s, "continuation" cars were built. Amongst those building the cars, was former Bizzarrini engineer Salvatore Diomante at Autocostruzione SD, Torino. He began building "continuation" P538s on commission for private buyers. These may be distinguished from 1960s-built cars by the use of square as opposed to round tubing. Giotto Bizzarrini and his wife Rosanna assisted in the construction of some of the early "continuation" cars, and they were built using some original Sixties Bizzarrini components from the parts inventory.

manta

1968

The Bizzarrini Manta is a concept car designed by Italdesign, which was presented to the public in 1968. The body designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in the so-called one-box style is considered to be groundbreaking for the design of later mid-engine sports cars. According to the manufacturer, the frame and chassis come from a Bizzarrini P538, the engine is a high-volume eight-cylinder Chevrolet.

The technical basis for Italdesign's first show car came from the Tuscan sports car manufacturer Bizzarrini, which was already in financial difficulties at the time. In 1966, Bizzarrini designed the P538 racing car as a supplement to the roadworthy GT 5300 sports car, which, contrary to expectations, was only used in two competitions and was no longer legal from 1967 due to far-reaching rule changes. 

Only four P538s were built up to 1968, one of which was destroyed prematurely. The P 538-003 chassis used by Bizzarrini's works team in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans was thus outdated and was up for sale. Giugiaro took over the chassis in the summer of 1968. In 45 days, the specialist Autocostruzioni S.D. the show car, which was not roadworthy at the time.

amx3

The AMC AMX/3 (alternate spelling: AMX III) is a mid-engine sports car produced by the American carmaker American Motors Corporation (AMC), which was presented to the Italian press in March 1970 and was to be produced in Germany by Karmann starting in 1971. AMC wanted to compete with the similarly designed De Tomaso Pantera that Ford marketed in the United States. The car's body and drivetrain were originated and developed by AMC, and Dick Teague designed the car. AMC consulted and partnered with Italian suppliers to build the chassis and suspension.

The design was falsely attributed to Giotto Bizzarrini, but only specific components. Italdesign and Autocostruzioni S.D. were involved in the development. the car never reached mass production after the official presentation. After half a dozen vehicles were built, AMC abandoned the project without giving any reason.

Several attempts to revive the design were unsuccessful, including a limited production license proposal, branded as the Bizzarrini Sciabola without AMC's involvement. Later, an AMC AMX/3 chassis formed the technical basis for the 1972 Iso Varedo concept car.

bz 2001

In 1990, Bizzarrini was involved in the design of a one-off supercar model based on Ferrari Testarossa chassis and running gear with a carbon fiber body. The car was shown to the public for the first time at Pebble Beach in 1993. It was designed by a team led by car designer Barry Watkins, with the design being inspired by the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Spyder, although it is also considered to be the true successor to the P538. About 3 million dollars was invested to build the car, an astronomical amount for that time. The car was planned to be put in production, but it remained the only one ever produced. In 2021, the car was sold from a specialist and expert in Bizzarrini's cars to a Swiss collector.

kjara

This 1998 Bizzarrini Kjara is a concept car and a one-off.

The Kjara project was born in 1998. The Scuderia Bizzarrini built this sport barchetta in close collaboration with Leone Martellucci of University La Sapienza of Roma.

 The project was the work specifically of the Engineering school, and Martellucci of the Department of Astronautics, Electrical and Energetics Engineering (DIAEE) was one of the visionaries behind the project as a whole.

The car is powered by a parallel hybrid propulsion system with a 2.5 litre TurboDiesel Lancia engine and a 54 hp AC electric drive; it was shown at Turin Auto Show in 2000.

The Kjara features a vessel-inspired body with a sleek, pointed front and large, dark headlights in a wraparound style. Also evident are prominent side air vents, a minimal windshield, and dual steel roll bars above the belt line, while the rear displayed a series of triangular cooling vents and angular tail lights encased in clear plastics with a black housing. Constructed from carbon fiber and advanced composites, the body was affixed to a tubular frame, ultimately drawing design cues from the renowned Bizzarrini 5300 GT and the P538S competition models. Inside the cabin, as this was very much constructed as a show car for founder Giotto Bizzarrini to exercise his creativity and skills, it was very bare, with only the essentials. Bizzarrini never intended to put the Kjara into production over even limited-production, giving them the freedom to not have to include all things necessary for road-use.

Kjara’s interior is not very well put together since this car was only meant as a show piece. The company never intended on making it a production model, not even for a limited run.

bt45

In 2005, the Bizzarrini GT Strada 4.1 concept was shown at the Geneva Motor Show. This two-door GT with a 4.1-litre 550 bhp plant, producing a maximum speed 360 km/h , 0–100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, planned for production in 2007.

Designed and constructed by a newly formed company called VGM Motors, a striking coupe was on display at Geneva to show the sports car manufacturer was back.

At the time the VGM Motors representitive indicated production could start early in 2006, but after the Geneva Show we heard nothing from the Italian company.

In 2020, the rights to the Bizzarrini name were acquired by Pegasus Brands, a luxury car dealer from Switzerland. The reborn company announced plans to revive the marque with new models that acknowledge Giotto Bizzarrini's racing and design heritage.

giotto

2021

Italian car maker Bizzarrini is back and has given us our first official look at its all-new car. A V12 hypercar, the Bizzarrini Giotto uses a Cosworth-developed engine, rather than the 6.5-litre V12 from the outgoing Lamborghini Aventador - which would’ve been a neat throwback to Giotto Bizzarini’s development of Lamborghini’s first V12 back in 1963. 

Performance specifications of the Giotto have yet to be revealed, but the naturally-aspirated 6.6-litre V12 (which conveniently references Bizzarrini’s birth date of 6th June 1926) and a carbon-fibre body should provide an enticing driving experience. The firm says the V12 is “Designed to meet Bizzarrini-specific performance, drivability, emissions compliance and emotional targets.”

The 5300 GT was front-mid engined and this new Giotto is mid-engined, but even with the different layouts, some design elements have been carried over. There are dual bonnet-mounted vents just like Bizzarrini designs of old and they incorporate slim LED headlights. The triangular B-pillar of the 5300 GT returns with ‘Bizzarrini’ badging and the wraparound rear window echoes the shape of the old car as well.