Manufacturers  /  Bizzarrini

Bizzarrini

Livorno, Italy · est. 1964

A short-lived Livorno marque defined by weight distribution and American V8 power.

Models
1
Top value
€1.1M
Period
1964–
Explore modelsManufacturer profile
Bizzarrini — manufacturer stage

Curated entry points

The essential Bizzarrinis

Three cars that explain the manufacturer: its origins, its engineering peak and the shape of its modern ambition.

1965–1968

5300 GT Strada

Giotto Bizzarrini’s Corvette-powered GT — a Le Mans class winner.

Collectibility
88 / 100
Indicative value
€1.1M

Complete catalogue

Every Bizzarrini on file

1 models · 1 families

5300 GT

1

Strada road cars and Corsa racers — a front-mid-engined V8 GT built low enough to embarrass prototypes, in a run of barely 133.

The house

A short-lived Livorno marque defined by weight distribution and American V8 power.

Giotto Bizzarrini engineered the Ferrari 250 GTO, then walked out of Maranello in the great palace revolt of 1961. After designing Lamborghini’s V12, he built his own car.

The 5300 GT put a Corvette V8 amidships-forward in a chassis slung so low the driver sits practically between the rear wheels, under a Giugiaro-drawn aluminium body. A Corsa won its class at Le Mans in 1965.

Around 133 were built before the money ran out — enough to race, never enough to profit. Half a century on, the Strada has become a connoisseur’s blue-chip: GTO engineering with an outsider’s story, at a hundredth of the price.

Founded
1964
Prototipi Bizzarrini S.r.l. was established in Livorno, Italy.
5300 GT output
About 133
Factory history records the figure across Strada, America and Corsa versions.
Engine placement
Front-mid-engined
The Chevrolet V8 sat behind the front axle to centralise mass.
2024 auction reference
€736,250
RM Sotheby's sold alloy-bodied chassis IA3 0264 at Monaco.

Selected milestones

A bloodline, not a list.

  1. 1964

    The Livorno company

    Prototipi Bizzarrini is founded while Giotto Bizzarrini continues the Iso Grifo A3/C programme that will become the 5300 GT.

  2. 1965

    The Corsa proves the layout

    The 5300 GT Corsa wins the over-five-litre class at Le Mans, giving the road-going Strada a direct competition reference.

  3. 1966

    P538

    The open P538 moves the 5.3-litre V8 behind the driver and extends the marque from grand touring into a purpose-built sports racer.

  4. 1967

    A smaller Europa

    The 1900 GT Europa pairs a light glass-fibre body with Opel power, opening a lower-capacity line beneath the 5300 GT.

  5. 1969

    Original production ends

    Bizzarrini S.p.A. declares bankruptcy after difficulties with investors, fixing the original production period at five years.

  6. 2020

    The name returns

    New ownership reintroduces the marque; a 24-car 5300 GT Corsa Revival programme follows.

What defines Bizzarrini

Centralise the mass

Engines are pushed rearward in the chassis, behind the front axle in the 5300 GT and behind the driver in the P538.

Use proven engines

Bizzarrini paired its own chassis work with Chevrolet V8 and Opel four-cylinder power rather than developing engines in-house.

Test through competition

The Corsa and P538 programmes made endurance racing part of development rather than a separate styling exercise.

The hands

Who drew and built the Bizzarrini files

2 names in the register stand behind this manufacturer. Each has a file of their own, following the work wherever it went.

The whole register of people

The mark

An eagle over Livorno.

The original company had one mark: a golden eagle, wings spread, on a red disc ringed by gilt flames — BIZZARRINI above, Livorno below. Who drew it is not recorded; the works lasted barely five years and left more cars than paperwork.

The name returned in 2020: a revived Bizzarrini builds continuation 5300 GTs, and the eagle still fronts the company.

Bizzarrini crest, 1964–1969

1964–1969

The only mark the company ever had: eagle, disc, and a ring of flame.