1960 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa Revival

1960 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa Revival

Pegasus Automotive Group, is ecstatic to announce the return of one of the most iconic names in the automotive world. Bizzarrini, named for Giotto Bizzarrini, the brilliant automotive engineer behind the famed Italian company, was discontinued in 1969, leaving a void barely filled by any other sports car manufacturer. Giotto Bizzarrini, the brilliant automotive engineer behind the Italian sports car company and his iconic masterpiece. But, it’s back in business now with the revival of one of the world’s most coveted race cars—the stunning 5300 GT Corsa.

After almost five decades, Bizzarrini brings back the iconic sports car with the 5300 GT Corsa Revival, a modern sports car following the original blueprints. Before delving deep into the nitty-gritty details of the authentic recreation of Giotto Bizzarrini’s first car, let’s first take a trip back in time to the 1960s, and learn the fascinating story of the company and its founder who designed the fabulous GT 5300 Corsa.

Giotto Bizzarrini began his career in the automobile industry in 1953 with Alfa Romeo. He trained as a test driver and engineer in Alfa Romeo’s skunkworks before joining Ferrari in 1957. Giotto’s most notable achievement at Ferrari was designing the 250 GTO and SWB 250 sports cars. He was, however, sacked by Enzo Ferrari in 1961, together with other key engineers, in an event known as the Palace Revolt. Ferruccio Lamborghini, Enzo’s archrival, took advantage of the opportunity and commissioned Giotto to design Lamborghini’s first V12 engine. This twelve-cylinder mill was first used in 1963’s 350 GT, then in the 2010’s Murcielago.

Seizing every opportunity to soar and succeed, Giotto Bizzarrini partnered with the Italian industrialist Renzo Rivolta to develop sports cars for the latter’s Iso brand. From this collaboration came the Iso Grifo A3/C—a radical evolution of the Iso Grifo A3/L road car also designed by Bizzarrini. While Iso’s aim was to productionize the road-going A3/L, Giotto focused on developing the A3/C. Later that year, the collaborative working relationship between the two Italian industrialists crumbled, and they went their separate ways.

Buoyed by his past successes, Giotto finally founded his own eponymous marque. Initially, the talented Italian engineer designed variants of the Grifo A3/L and A3/C models, dubbed the 5300 GT Strada and 5300 GT Corsa, respectively. Between 1964 and 1968, Bizzarrini rolled out a series of sparkling sports cars, including the open-cockpit P538 sports prototype and the 1900 GT Europa. Bizzarrini has a rich history in motorsport. The legendary 5300 GT Corsa won its class and came first at the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans, beating Ferrari at the race. However, and despite this proud history, Bizzarrini closed its doors in 1969. 

Did the year 1969 mark the end of the Italian brand? Definitely not! In 2018, the Kuwaiti-owned Pegasus Brands acquired the trademarks and intellectual property rights to the Bizzarrini marque. As an international dealer group that represents iconic brands such as Aston Martin, Koenigsegg, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Pegasus runs its operations in London, Geneva, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, USA, and the Far East.

With a successful track record in the high-end automotive industry, Pegasus also has a stake in Aston Martin Works and owns Sports Classics, a global classic car business offering the finest classic car services—including buying, servicing, restoring, and consulting—to discerning classic car buyers around the world. Above all, Pegasus manages its UAE-based Pegasus Prestige Service Center, catering to luxury, high-end vehicles.

For the 5300 GT Corsa Revival, 24 examples of the tribute to the original 5300 GT will be hand-built at Bizzarrini’s dedicated factory in the UK. The first prototype of the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa Revival already took to the roads for final endurance testing before manufacturing and delivering the first customer cars.

As the exclusive and official distributor of the Bizzarrini brand, Pegasus Automotive Group is launching this exotic vehicle in the Middle East and around the world. In July 2022, the first batch of the new 5300 GT Corsa Revival arrived to customers. 

Using original blueprints from the 1960s’ masterpiece, the engineers involved in the new Bizzarrini added some improvements with modern safety regulations in mind. For example, the original car’s fuel tanks were situated deep in the sills, as well as behind the driver. Now, the fuel tank created using 3D scanning technology fills the void in the chassis. Consequently, the fuel capacity increased to 95 liters, providing one hour and eight minutes of running at full speed, thus keeping the range within multiple-round racing requirements.

Test drives of the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa Revival revealed the new exotic car is more rigid than Giotto Bizzarrini’s original car, with a lightweight single-piece composite body constructed over a steel frame. At just 1250 kg, the modern Bizzarrini has an excellent power-to-weight ratio.

Inside, a six-point roll cage protects the two available seats. The period-specific, 400-hp 5.3-liter V8 engine with Weber 45 carburetors pairs with independent rear suspension and all-round disc brakes to comply with Giotto’s Corsa specifications.

For the Rosso Corsa red paint job, the Bizzarrini team found an original body panel hidden from light for all these years and color-matched it to achieve the shade of Rosso Corsa that will be applied to all new Revival models.

Dr. Saeed Dana, President and CEO of Pegasus Automotive Group – Retail, said: “The global luxury car market was valued at around USD 410 billion in 2020 and it is projected to grow to USD 566 billion in 2026.”