Bizzarrini
Automobili Bizzarrini SpA was a manufacturer of high-performance sports car from Livorno, Italy, which was founded in late 1962 by Giotto Bizzarrini. Until the dissolution of the company in the spring of 1969 Bizzarrini designed a series of powerful, but vulnerable road and racing cars, each of which was completed in just a few copies and are now among the exclusive classics.
- 3.1 Bizzarrini Manta
- 3.2 Bizzarrini Sciabola
- 3.3 Picchio Barchetta
- 3.4 Bizzarrini BZ -2001
- 3.5 Bizzarrini Kjara
Company History
The career Giotto Bizzarrinis had begun in the development department Alfa Romeo 1954. In 1957 he was hired by Ferrari. There he was involved among other things, the development of the 250 GTO. After a bitter dispute with Enzo Ferrari, he participated in the end of 1961, together with Carlo Chiti and some other former Ferrari employees at the project Automobili Turismo e Sport ( ATS), whose declared aim was in racing as in the field of road vehicles compete with Ferrari build. In ATS Bizzarrini had a certain influence on the development of the sports car ATS 2500 GT. After less than a year, Bizzarrini and Chiti separated again by ATS, which was located in resolution mainly for financial reasons. While Chiti began in the subsequent period to build the company Autodelta in Milan, Bizzarrini founded a company named Autostar, which was later renamed in 1964 finally Società Prototipi Bizzarrini and a year in Automobili Bizzarrini SpA in Livorno. Here Bizzarrini developed initially engines - including the 3.5 -liter twelve-cylinder engine of the Lamborghini 350 GT - and later, other vehicle components.
The production numbers of the Bizzarrini -models are largely in the dark. The information in the different sources deviate more or less from one another; Giotto Bizzarrini himself led on the production does not maintain accurate records.
Giotto Bizzarrinis son Giuseppe is also active in the automotive sector. He runs, among other things, the company Carplast which established body parts for Alfa Romeo SZ RZ and.
The company Automobili Bizzarrini presented during its continuous existence until 1969 was three different types of vehicles, each of which was realized only in small numbers.
Bizzarrini GT 5300
The first production vehicle that has been manufactured and marketed by Bizzarrini under his own name, was the eight-cylinder engines from Chevrolet in different levels of tuning used on the Iso Grifo A3 / C Corsa Bizzarrini GT based 5300th The car. It was offered as a road-going Strada version as well as racing version with the additional designation Corsa. In addition, three known as Spyder vehicles came with an open body. The GT 5300 was built from 1966 to 1968. The scale of production is not clear. In the literature, the data range from 78 copies to 149 vehicles.
Bizzarrini P 538
The Bizzarrini P 538 was designed as a successor to the GT 5300. It was an open two- seater, which was designed exclusively for competition purposes and primarily designed for long-distance races. In addition, there was a as Duca D'Aosta designated as a single copy within an enclosed superstructure. When driving an eight-cylinder engine from Chevrolet or a twelve-cylinder engine of Lamborghini was used alternatively. Between 1965 and 1967, forming four, according to other sources five original vehicles; presented in the following 30 years Autocostruzione SD in Turin addition, about a dozen replicas ago.
Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa
The Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa was a compact sports car, the Opel - used technique. Conceptually, he was a forerunner of the Opel GT. Primarily engines from Opel were used, individual specimens were also engines of Alfa Romeo or Fiat, which were partially tuned. Initially was thinking of a production in larger series; However, they did not materialize. Until 1969 only led to some 20 copies. The 1900 GT Europa was the catalyst for the development of similarly designed, but based on a Ford technology Siva Sirio.
Later vehicles under the brand name Bizzarrini
Bizzarrini Manta
The Bizzarrini Manta was a one-off, Giorgio Giugiaro -designed 1968 on the chassis of a P 538 S. It was the first car designed by Giugiaro for his own company Ital Design. Toyota copied Guigiaros ideas visible to the show car presented in 1971 Toyota EX 7
Bizzarrini Sciabola
The Bizzarrini Sciabola was a two-seater mid -engine sports car, which was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in 1971 to the public. It was based on the AMC AMX / 3, a sports car of the American carmaker American Motors (AMC ), whose chassis Giotto Bizzarrini had designed in 1969. AMC had initially planned a series production of about 1,000 copies a year, the project was, however, before the start of production in the summer of 1970. Bizzarrini took over the design and also the resultant in the U.S. body design largely unchanged and was hoping to achieve with the financial support of the Italian OTO Melara gearbox manufacturer, a production of about 20 vehicles. The project failed in the spring of 1971, when AMC refused the delivery of technical components. There was only a prototype of the Sciabola, which was built in the operation of Salvatore Diomante and still exists today.
Picchio Barchetta
The Piccio Barchetta was a 1990 competition arisen vehicle, designed the Bizzarrini for the Italian racing car manufacturer Picchio Racing Racing Cars. She was equipped with an engine from BMW. The Barchettas have been used in the Italian hill climb and were quite successful.
Bizzarrini BZ -2001
The BZ- 2001 was a mid-engined sports car that was built at the beginning of the 1990s. It was a project of the American contractor, Barry Watkins, to Giotto Bizzarrini primarily contributed his name. Neither the chassis or suspension have been designed by Giotto Bizzarrini. Watkins used instead technical components of Ferrari, which was clothed with a new, sensational body. The BZ -2001 was a broad, open two-seater with a plastic body. Supposedly he was the 5300 Spyder SI empathize. 1993 was a prototype, which was based on the chassis of a Ferrari Testarossa. Frame and suspension had been only slightly revised; also the twelve-cylinder engine of the Ferrari was acquired initially. The body was, however, independently. However, they pointed like the Ferrari gaudy side vents. Watkins Racing planned to produce annually 150 copies of the convertible in California since 1995. However, a series production did not materialize; it was only a prototype of the BZ -2001, which was shown in the 1990s to various American automobile exhibitions and received different engines over the course of the 1990s. 1996 was about the use of a ( cheaper ) eight-cylinder engine with 6 liters and 500 hp supposedly the speech.
Bizzarrini Kjara
The Bizzarrini Kjara was a 1998 imagined prototype of an open sports car with hybrid drive.