Europe has produced many beautiful automobiles, particularly during the 1960’s. In this era, the concept that a performance vehicle also had to be breathtakingly designed to produce the maximum visual impact was in full fashion. Designers from many different countries wowed the world with their limited production runs of incredible machines. Italy seemed to have more than her fair share of talented automotive engineers with an eye for aesthetics. One of these men was Guitto Bizzarinni, who held a high position at
Ferrari for many years, and was in part responsible for one of the most lauded cars every to have been built, the
Ferrari 250 GTO. He left
Ferrari in 1961 in order to form his own company, which he named after himself. Working with Renzo Rivolta, he developed a good working relationship with the Iso car company, where he honed his skills designing and engineering several different sports cars.
One of these vehicles was the Grifo A3C. The A3C was a sleek and attractive automobile powered by a Corvette engine. The vehicle was based on a Rivolta 300 chassis with a fully independent front suspension and a De Dion rear axle. The vehicle proved itself during the 24 Hours at Le Mans in 1965, winning the class. However, tensions had developed between Rivolta and
Bizzarrini, and after it was revealed that
Bizzarrini had personally trademarked some of the Iso intellectual property, Guitto was shown the door. Undaunted, he continued to produce the A3C, renaming it the
Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada after the displacement of the engine. Small differences between this A3C and the almost identical Iso Grifo were largely a result of
Bizzarrini changing parts suppliers, who’s components exhibited slightly different exterior designs.
The Strada designation referred to the fact the 5300 GT was a road car. Strada versions were powered by a 365 horsepower version of the Corvette engine found in the Corsa, or race models, where it made 405 horsepower. Both vehicles had the engine set far back in the chassis in order to improve the weight balance of the vehicle. Although the performance of the vehicle benefited from this design, the interior was much noisier and hotter than a standard vehicle, due to the proximity to the engine. In the 1960’s, interior form typically followed function, and the passenger compartment was quite small. The speedometer and tachometer were located in the center of the dash, as race-inspired design dictated that the oil pressure and engine temperature gauges were more important and therefore should be placed in front of the driver. For both cars, access to the cockpit was accomplished through push buttons, as no visible door handles spoiled the exterior lines of the car.
The Strada version of the car also differed from the race model in that the Corsa used a fiberglass body and plastic headlights in order to save on weight. The interior was also stripped down. The engine’s more aggressive tune was aided by 4 Weber carburetors, which were too finicky to be employed on the street but which made for an excellent race setup. Despite not benefiting from the same weight-reduction scheme as the Corsa version, the Strada model weighed in at a svelte 2755 pounds, respectable especially considering the mass of the iron V8 engine.
Towards the end of his production run,
Bizzarrini had trouble sourcing replacement parts for his cars, and often had to fabricate a custom solution in his own shop when customers came calling. About 50 cars were built under the
Bizzarrini name after the split for Iso occurred, and they remain rare and sought after on the collector car market.
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June 4, 2008, 6:59 am
