The ‘60s were a time when cars were built to be fast and beautiful. Back in the day, safety was given very little concern and a lot of the marques like Alfa Romeo and Ferrari were busy making gorgeous pieces of sheet metal. One of the few companies that played a significant role in the sports car scene during the ‘60s was Bizzarini.
Interestingly, Bizzarini and Lamborghini have had a relationship with each other when Ferruccio asked Societa Autostar, Bizzarini’s engineering firm to build V12 engines for him. Up until the Murcielago, Lamborghini used various iterations of the Bizzarini V12 and was only replaced in 2011 when the Aventador came out. Bizzarini S.p.A got decommissioned in 1969 but there were a few little known cars that actually rivaled Ferraris. How it came to be is an interesting story (more on that soon).
The 1965 Bizzarini A3C was a Le Mans-winning race car. Bizzarini being an ex-Ferrari development chief was a racing fanatic and partnered with Iso Revolta to built the A3C; unofficially crowned as a non-Ferrari GTO of the ‘60s.
The Palace Revolt Of 1961
Also called the ‘Great Walkout’ was during the early ‘60s when there was an internal spark amongst the people in Ferrari. Long-time sales manager Girolamo Gardini was the person who allotted which cars go to which client. At the time Enzo Ferrari’s wife Laura had a say in a few sales calls and Gardini wasn’t happy about it to a point where he lost it. Gardini along with manager Romolo Tavoni, chief engineer Carlo Chiti, sports car development chief Giotto Bizzarrini offered Enzo an ultimatum demanding that Laura be removed from the company. Back then Bizzarini played an integral role in the development of the Ferrari 250 TR, the Ferrari 250 GT SWB, and the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO.
Enzo called a meeting and fired all those who supported removing Laura from the company. All of Ferrari’s top employees were gone and left the brand in a predicament with speculators calling it the end of Ferrari. This was a crucial turning point for Ferrari as a brand and led to one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the automotive industry.
After leaving Ferrari, Bizzarini became part of Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS), a company started by the ex-Ferrari engineers. The team was able to bag Ferrari’s top racing customer, Scuderia Serenissima, and made single-seater Formula One cars under their name. Since 1964, Bizzarini worked as a consultant for Iso Revolta and headed the development of their GT and Iso Grifo; a car that spawned the A3C.
Italian Beauty With An American Heart
Bizzarini was heavily impressed when he got the chance to drive the Iso Rivolta GT. It used a Chevy V8 and a sophisticated independent suspension unheard of back in the time. Later Bizzarini and famous designer Giorgetto Giugiaro joined forces to create what was the most ridiculous Italian coupe to date; the Iso Grifo A3L, wherein L stood for Lusso. It garnered huge attention and Bizzarini being a race car enthusiast wanted to go racing with the Iso Grifo A3L
Bizzarini made important modifications and called it the Bizzarini Iso A3C where C stood for Competizione or Corsa. Modifications came with the likes of an all-aluminum body, initially with a riveted design and later with an aluminum and fiberglass architecture. It was basically a Grifo A3L on steroids, the aggressive design paired with inboard brakes and better aerodynamics proved to be an advantage over Ferraris of the time. However, one of the highlight features that set apart the A3C from the A3L is the adoption of a mid-engined layout. Yes, it was one of the first cars to feature a front mid-engined layout. The engine used was a 327 cu-in Chevy V8 that made over 400 horsepower.
An Extremely Rare Piece Of Automotive Jewelry
With race wins over at Le Mans in the prototype class and finishing 9th overall, 1965 was the year when Bizzarini made essentially a non-Ferrari GTO and won in its class. However, Bizzarini couldn’t homologate the car and was unable to race in the GT class. There were around 29 A3Cs built which makes it rarer than a Ferrari 250 GTO which saw around 38 being made. The unsuccessful relationship between Bizzarini and Iso was primarily due to the former wanting to pursue racing while the latter preferred building luxury sports coupe for the masses.
This led to Bizzarini S.p.A and the brand made around 140 cars until it was closed down in 1969. The Bizzarini 5300 GT Strada was in essence an A3C for the road. It had everything that the A3C had but was more refined. Coming across a Bizzarini is highly uncommon and pristine examples of the 5300 GT are selling for over a million dollars! The A3Cs are even rarer and harder to find, especially with a clean history.
Sources: YouTube, Hemmings, Wikipedia