It was early 2021 as I walked down the street in a Covid-empty city of Zurich, when I stumbled upon a car that I couldn’t identify. As you would hopefully expect from someone writing a car blog, that doesn’t happen too often. It turned out that I was standing in front of a Bizzarrini, an exotic Italian supercar from the 60’s, developed by Giotto Bizzarrini, one of the greatest car engineers the world has seen. That led to the post on his remarkable career from early 2021 which serves as a good background to today’s update.

As a sign that all is not lost on the car front and that sensible things are still happening, notably in Italy where the recent Ferrari Luce could lead you to believe otherwise, Bizzarrini is back. At the Goodwood festival of speed in the UK a few weeks ago, the brand showed their new car, based on the original Bizzarrini 5300 from the 60’s, and also talked about plans for the future.

It should be noted that there’s already been one try at reviving the Bizzarrini brand. That was in the late 90’s and early 00’s, but in spite of good intentions, there wasn’t enough backing to make it into production. There were several tries at different car models and the most interesting was no doubt the Bizzarrini Kjara, based on an original Bizzarrini concept. It combined an internal combustion engine with electric drive, years before hybrids became fashionable. It remained a one-off concept, but serves as a good reminder of the genius of the man who only passed away three years ago, 96 years old.

The current attempt at a Bizzarrini revival started in 2020 and seems rather well funded, also benefiting from a clear strategy. It evolves around the resurrection of the track car 5300 GT Corsa and the road legal 5300 Aperta Lusso that we’ll focus on here. Both these are produced in (very) limited series but will in 2027 be complemented by the Giotto, a modern supercar promising to set new standards in performance and usability.

The 5300 Aperta is based on a targa version of the Bizzarrini from the 60’s that never made it beyond paper sketches. In fact it was originally intended for the Iso Grifo, another small Italian brand form the 60’s. The revived design is close to the original Bizzarrini with minor adaptations and then the glass bulb of the targa top, giving the design even more elegance than the original. With a body entirely in carbon fibre, the new 5300 is low and wide, with a hungry front and a rear with four, undisguised real pipes. It looks fantastic.

The new 5300 respects Bizzarrini’s engineering thinking, notably in terms of weight distribution. As in the original car, the engine sits as far back as possible under the long hood, behind the front axle, and it’s tilted depending on whether the car is right- or left-hand drive such as to always give the car a perfect weight distribution. The engine itself is still a small-block V8 but has been fully modernized, with the wonderful Weber carburetors replaced by fuel injection – however in a design that still looks ass the original. It’s said to produce in excess of 400 hp.

The idea has been to preserve the analogue feel of the car but still have it meet modern standards. In that spirit, brake performance has been improved by working around a concept with larger disks, rather than fitting a hydro-assisted system. The five-speed Tremec box is also said to convey a mechanical feel, and the suspension is traditional springs. And so it goes on.

10 Apertas have been built, all individually made to the lucky owners’ specification, with interiors featuring solid wood on the dash and textiles from the Italian textile designer Ermenegildo Zegna. The V8 is said to give the car a top speed of 280 km/h, which given the fact that you’re sitting no more than 30 cm above the road is no doubt enough.

If the revival project holds and timelins are kept, the 5300 will then be complemented by the Giotto, a V12-powered supercar planned for 2027. Designed by Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro, the father-and-son team where Giorgetto was also involved in the original Bizzarrini design in the 60’s, the car is said to feature a 6,626cc Cosworth V12. This is a tribute to Bizzarrini’s design of the original Lamborghini V12, as described in my post from 2021, but also to Giotto Bizzarrini’s birth date: June 6, 1926.

Bizzarrini is today owned by Rezam Al Roumi, a Kuwaiti businessman who’s previously been engaged with Aston Martin, notably as chairman, so clearly with some solid car credentials. His intention is to return Bizzarrini to its rightful place in the luxury car segment. It would be great if he succeeds, but with all respect for the Giotto, it would be even greater if he decides that a run of only 10 examples of one of the most beautiful cars ever is clearly not enough!