Giotto Bizzarrini

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Giotto Bizzarrini (right) next to Olivier Gendebien in 1960
Constructed by Giotto Bizzarrini: Ferrari 250 GTO
The ASA 1000 GT
Bizzarrini's second construction for Iso Rivolta : The Iso Grifo
The racing version of the Grifo: The Bizzarrini GT 5300

Giotto Bizzarrini (born June 6, 1926 in Quercianella near Livorno , Italy ) is an Italian designer of racing cars.

biography

Bizzarrini holds a degree in engineering from the University of Pisa . Even before completing his studies, he designed his first car, the 500 Macchinetta ; it remained a one-off. Bizzarrini found his first job in 1954 at Alfa Romeo . Three years later he moved to Ferrari's development department . As with Alfa Romeo, Bizzarrini worked here with Carlo Chiti . The Ferrari 250 GT and, above all, the Ferrari 250 GTO were his creations. In autumn 1961 there was an intense, very personal argument between Enzo Ferrari and his wife Laura Ferrari on the one hand and the then Ferrari sales manager Girolamo Gardini on the other, as a result of which Gardini and five other Ferrari employees were dismissed. They included Giotto Bizzarrini and Carlo Chiti.

In February 1962, Chiti, Bizzarrini and the other former Ferrari employees founded Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS) with the aim of giving Ferrari serious competition both on the road and on the track. Giorgio Billi and Jaime Ortiz-Patino initially financed the project, and shortly after the company was founded, the young Venetian entrepreneur Conte Giovanni Volpi joined them temporarily . Bizzarrini left the company after a few months because, in cooperation with Carlo Chiti, he could not find enough space to realize his ideas.

In 1962, Giotto Bizzarrini founded his own design and construction company called Autostar in Livorno, which was renamed Società Prototipi Bizzarrini in 1964 and then Automobili Bizzarrini SpA a year later. Giotto Bizzarrini's young company initially took on external orders in the field of vehicle and engine development. His early work included the Ferrari 250 GTO "Breadvan" that Bizzarrini developed for the Scuderia Serenissima ; Bizzarrini was also involved in the development of the ASA 1000 GT . For Lamborghini he designed the twelve-cylinder engine of the Lamborghini 350 GTV and its successors, the 350 GT and 400 GT , and for Iso Rivolta Bizzarrini designed the Iso Rivolta IR 300 and the Iso Grifo . Starting in 1963, produced Bizzarrini Livorno a racing version of this car, which initially Iso as Grifo A3 / C was sold. After the business relationship with Renzo Rivolta ended in dispute in 1965, Bizzarrini continued production of the sports car in his own name. The car, known as the Bizzarrini GT 5300 , was the first car sold under the Bizzarrini name; Bizzarrini had now become an automaker. The GT 5300 was not a commercial success. Giotto Bizzarrini, who stated that he only dealt with the technical questions, was overwhelmed in economic matters. His company was poorly funded and was unable to meet demand due to the lack of resources. Another racing car, the Bizzarrini P 538 , was produced in just four copies. For a collaboration with Opel , Bizzarrini developed a smaller version called the Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa, which, however, did not go into series production due to the success of the Opel GT . Allegedly only 17 prototypes were built. In 1969, Bizzarrini's company was liquidated. By then, around 155 vehicles had been built that bore the name Bizzarrini.

After the end of the company he worked as a consultant in the international automotive industry and gave lectures at the University of Rome. Bizzarrini has been designing prototypes that bore his name since the 1970s. A series production never came about.

statistics

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season team race car 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10
1973 Giotto Bizzarrini Bizzarrini United StatesUnited States DAY ItalyItaly VAL FranceFrance DIJ ItalyItaly MON BelgiumBelgium SPA ItalyItaly TAR GermanyGermany ONLY FranceFrance LEM AustriaAustria ZEL United StatesUnited States WAT
DNF

literature

  • Wolfgang Blaube : Blue Mauritius . Model history and driving report for the Bizzarrini 5300 Spyder SI In: Oldtimer Markt . No. 5 , May 2006, ISSN  0939-9704 , p. 172 ff .
  • Eduard Hattuma: Bizzarrini GT Strada 5300 and GT America . Model presentation and history of the brand. In: Schweizer Old + Youngtimer, March / April 2010, p. 21 ff.
  • Richard Heseltine: One Vision . Driving report and model history of the Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strada. In: Classic and Sports Car, September 2004 issue.
  • Frank Oleski, Hartmut Lehbrink: Series sports cars . Cologne (Könemann) 1993. ISBN 3-89508-000-4 .
  • Michael Riedner: Show-Biz . Presentation and driving report Bizzarrini GT Corsa 5300 from 1965. In: Motor Klassik, issue 3/1989.
  • Halwart Schrader, Georg Amtmann: Italian sports cars . Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-01988-4 .
  • Bernd Woytal: Bizzarrini GT Strada 5300 . In: Bernd Wieland: Italian classic sports cars. 1st edition. Stuttgart (Motorbuch Verlag) 2001. ISBN 3-613-02162-5

Web links

Commons : Giotto Bizzarrini  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hattuma: Bizzarrini. Old + Youngtimer Magazin March / April 2010, p. 22.
  2. ^ Schrader, Amtmann: Italian Sports Cars, p. 88.
  3. ^ Blaube: Blue Mauritius. Oldtimer Markt 5/2006, p. 172 ff.
  4. ↑ Hattuma: Bizzarrini. Old + Youngtimer Magazin March / April 2010, p. 22.
personal data
SURNAME Bizzarrini, Giotto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian racing car designer
DATE OF BIRTH June 6, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Quercianella near Livorno