One to Buy: 1 of 1 ex-works 1966 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa
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During the 1964 and ‘65 seasons, the Bizzarrini-built Iso Grifo A3/C had proven itself as arguably the fastest GT racing car around even if it had not been produced in sufficient quantity to actually be homologated as a legitimate Group 3 Grand Tourer.
Unfortunately, the A3/C’s promising career came to an end during the late summer of 1965 when Iso boss Renzo Rivolta decided to sever ties with Giotto Bizzarrini owing to disagreements over branding and trademarking. Ultimately, Bizzarrini got the rights to produce the A3/C along with enough parts to build 50 cars in return for handing over the Grifo trademark.
As Giotto Bizzarrini now had to foot the bill for racing, along with the fact he had an expensive new Sports Prototype in development, only one example of the resultant Bizzarrini 5300 GT ever saw official on-track action: chassis BA4 0106.
Today, that car, the only right-hand drive 5300 GT completed, is on offer at the Fiskens showroom in London.
BA4 0106 raced on three occasions during the 1966 season. A shortage of wet weather tyres at the Monza 1000km meant it was an unclassified finisher while at the Targa Florio it blew a head gasket on the second lap and retired. At the Le Mans 24 Hours the car was disqualified owing to a pair of pit lane infringements.
For 1967, Bizzarrini equipped BA4 0106 with a seven-litre engine, but the car’s fortunes did not improve. Having posted 30th quickest time at the Le Mans Test, it did not start either the Monza 1000km or Le Mans 24 Hours, the latter as a consequence of a failed scrutineers inspection.
The car was subsequently mothballed at the Bizzarrini works for 34 years. Since discovery, it has been restored to 1966 Le Mans trim and successfully raced in historic events.
