Less than two months after announcing its return to the automotive world, celebrated Italian marque Bizzarrini has named its first project. Just 24 hand-built examples of the 5300 GT Revival Corsa will start its Revival Series.
The car is renowned for its stellar performance in the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hour, where a 5300 GT (chassis number 0222) won the over 5.0-litre class and finished ninth outright with French drivers Regis Fraissinet and Jean de Mortemart at the wheel, clocking an average speed of 169km/h.
This was also the era where Giotto Bizzarrini not only drove the car to France, but also to his home in Northern Italy immediately after the race, as was the custom in those heady days of sports car racing – these were road cars that raced at the highest levels.
Like the original racer, each Bizzarrini 5300 GT Revival Corsa 24/65 will be hand-crafted using a lightweight composite body over a light tubular steel frame. Inside the cockpit you’ll find two seats protected by a roll cage and safety fuel cell, all of which is designed to meet current FIA specifications for International Historic racing.
Upgrades include uprated independent rear suspension and disc brakes on all four wheels which are married to a period-specific V8 with Weber 45 DCOE (Doppio Corpo Orizzontale E) carburettors, developing between 298kW and 358kW of power.
The Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada had a kerb weight of 1200kg, but the new revival car to tip the scales at a claimed 975kg, ensuring an enviable power-to-weight ratio for racing.
Along with Bizzarrini’s reputation for engineering excellence, the 5300 GT was also lauded for its head-turning design, with an impossibly low-slung but curvaceous body with a rear screen that was practically horizontal.
Those curves are only interrupted by the deep vents for the brakes and engine, with its small vents at the nose giving the car its stunning face.
While the 5300 GT Corso makes the revival of the brand, it was soon be joined by an all-new Bizzarrini – the direct result of the talents of both Giorgetto Giugiaro and Giotto Bizzarrini who have combined to produce a new car for a new era.
It will be a high-performance sports car to honour its founder’s quest for engineering brilliance. However, this will not be an electrically-powered car or even a hybrid, but another Bizzarrini powered by an internal-combustion engine.
We can’t wait.
