Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada

If you want to tell the story of the Bizzarrini 5300 GT, you have to look at the Iso Grifo A3/C at the same time. Both cars not only look almost identical, they are virtually identical in construction. Behind both projects was Giotto Bizzarrini, who was Ferrari’s chief designer until the early 1960s. In 1961, he had to leave the company together with five other high-ranking employees due to a dispute with Enzo Ferrari and his wife Laura. Together they founded the new sports car brand ATS. However, Giotto Bizzarrini left the project again quite soon, as he had little room for his own ideas alongside designer Carlo Chiti. With his own design and construction office called Autostar in Livorno, he took care of new projects from 1962. Two years later he changed the company name to Società Prototipi Bizzarrini and the following year to Automobili Bizzarrini SpA.

Bizzarrini design for motorsport

Two early designs from his new company were the Ferrari 250 GT Breadvan and the ASA 1000 GT, as well as the V12 engine for Lamborghini. Next to knock on the door was Renzo Rivolta, who also wanted to get into the sports car market with his Iso brand. The Iso Rivolta IR300 was the first vehicle to emerge. Shortly afterwards, the chassis was further developed for the Iso Grifo. This was also intended for use in motorsports, which is why Bizzarrini designed the A3/C variant. Under the hood, but far behind the front axle, was the V8 engine of the Chevrolet Corvette with at least 365 hp. Twin carburetors and further engine tuning increased the power in racing mode to up to 420 hp. The A3/C was already competing in motorsport when the differently styled road version A3/L wasn’t even in production. The sports car was first seen at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1964. It also competed at Le Mans, Reims, Monza and Zeltweg.

Johnny Hallyday bought a Grifo A3/C

Two class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1964 and 1965 meant that private customers were also interested in the Iso Grifo A3/C. Therefore, the sports car was produced in a small series, with the choice between a smooth aluminium body and a body made of light alloys held together with rivets, as those alloys couldn’t be welded. For racing purposes, one vehicle with a plastic body was also produced. Probably only ten units of the light alloy version were built, with a curb weight of 969 kilograms. One of these went to Jean-Philippe Smet in Paris. This name is probably only known to die-hard music fans, as the Frenchman’s stage name was Johnny Hallyday. In addition to more than 100 million record sales, he also had appearances in about 30 films. After only one year he sold the car to Jean Claude Guillaume. The latter passed it on to Prince Pierre Sanguszko via the Grand Garage Moliere.

Grifo A3/C at RM Sotheby’s

The Prince kept the Iso Grifo A3/C for almost 20 years and had it painted in white with blue stripe. After the prince’s death, the sports car went to Michel Hommell via his close friend and at the time president of Ferrari France Pozzi, Daniel Marin. He arranged for it to be repainted red and displayed the Iso in his small car museum. In 2009, Yvan Mahé bought the A3/C, then three years later Pascal Perrier and finally in 2014 Mr. Guikas. His private car collection will be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s on November 19. Over 2021, more than € 14,000 went into the car for a repaint to Bordeaux red and an interior restoration. At the auction, between € 1,500,000 and € 2,000,000 is now expected as the hammer price. A quite good price for such a rarity from Italy.

Bizzarrini started his own production run

Despite their success in motorsport, Giotto Bizzarrini and Renzo Rivolta parted company in mid-1965 in a dispute. What exactly the dispute was about isn’t known. While the road cars continued to roll off the production line as Iso vehicles, Bizzarrini took with him all the design plans for the A3/C, which was assembled in his workshop anyway. From the end of 1965, this model was available as the Bizzarrini 5300 GT in “Strada” (Italian for road) or “Corsa” (Italian for race) versions. Initially, the 5.4-liter V8 engine from Chevrolet continued to work under the hood. Later models were fitted with a seven-liter engine on request. There were 86 Strada models with aluminium bodywork. One of them, together with the Iso Grifo A3/C shown above, is in the Guikas Collection and will therefore also go under the hammer on November 19.

5300 GT Strada at RM Sotheby’s

This Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada came to its first owner James Peters in Maryland, USA, on May 8, 1968. At that time he paid a new price which was twice as high as for a comparable Ferrari 330 GT. Little is known about its further time in the USA. In 1990, Hervé Ogliastro acquired the car and had it restored by Salvatore Diomante, the former Bizzarrini plant manager. This work took a full seven years. The proud owner showed the finished car at the Bagatelle Concours d’Elegance and kept the Strada for another 20 years. In 2017, the Bizzarrini came into the possession of Guikas and to this day shows in almost immaculate condition. At auction, it could fetch a hammer price of between € 750,000 and € 950,000.

Images: RM Sotheby’s, Paolo Carlini, Peter Singhof