Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa Revival
WHEN IT COMES TO ITALIAN EXOTICA few cars boast a more evocative name or more mythical status than the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa. Born out of a beef with Enzo Ferrari – boy did that man have a knack for making enemies – this low, lithe and lasciviously curvy machine was the brainchild of a dazzlingly talented engineer by the name of Giotto Bizzarrini. To understand the car you have to understand the man, so before we get under the skin and behind the wheel of the 5300 GT Corsa Revival, let me offer a bit of a history lesson.
Bizzarrini made his mark well before embarking on his eponymous venture; first at Alfa Romeo, where he worked as a test driver and engineer in Alfa’s skunkworks, before being headhunted by Enzo Ferrari.
Once at Maranello he was pivotal to the design of both the 250 SWB and 250 GTO, but in 1961 he and a handful of other key players were sacked by the curmudgeonly Old Man in what is referred to as the Palace Revolt. As a gun for hire, Bizzarrini grasped every opportunity to become a thorn in Ferrari’s side – a quest embraced by many of Enzo’s rivals. Indeed, it was Bizzarrini who Ferruccio Lamborghini commissioned to design the company’s first V12 engine, evolutions of which powered
