Bizzarrini 5300GT Strada Alloy
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Car producer : |
Bizzarrini |
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Model: |
5300GT Strada Alloy |
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Year: |
1965-1968 |
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Type: |
Coupe |
In 1966 Bizzarrini S.p.A. released a stunning street legal Grifo A3C as the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada (or Bizzarrini 5300 GT America, depending on the market). The body shape and mechanical parts were the much the same as the Iso A3Cs, resulting in a power-packed yet sensuous coupe that is 43" in height.
The Bizzarrini Strada (also 5300 GT Strada and 5300 GT), was a gran turismo automobile produced by Bizzarrini in the 1960s. Sold as an exceptionally low slung 2-seat coupe, roadster, and track-tuned "Corsa" racer, it proved their most successful model.
Designed by ex-Ferrari chief engineer Giotto Bizzarrini in 1963, the Strada was launched by his company in 1965. It was similar in concept to the Iso Grifo, also designed by Mr. Bizzarrini, and even used the Grifo name while in the planning stage, as well as the welded monocoque platform of the Iso Rivolta 300.
The Strada was powered by a Chevrolet small-block 327 Corvette engine displacing 5358 cc and producing 365 hp (272 kW) to 385 hp (272 kW) in street form and 400 hp (272 kW) in the Corsa.
Dunlop four-wheel disc brakes, a BorgWarner T-10 four-speed manual transmission, de Dion tube rear suspension, and limited slip differential were also used. The Giorgetto Giugiaro influenced Bertone styled aluminum body, was striking in its day and still regarded in the 2000s as "gorgeous". A single spyder version was also built.
Despite that type of reaction, very few examples of the 5300 GT Strada were produced during an approximate six-year production run. Production estimates vary between 100 and 149 Iso Grifo A3s and Bizzarrini 5300 GT Stradas and GT Americas, including approximately 70 alloy-bodied Strada examples. There were two primary reasons for such limited numbers, with the first being the lack of a reliable coachbuilder to supply the car bodies, and the second being that Bizzarrini unknowingly took on two shareholders who ran a sophisticated pyramid scheme. “In the end, I fell to two Al Capones,” Bizzarrini told author Goodfellow. “And that was the end of the story.” Afterward, the engineer returned to private practice as a consultant, working for such varied companies as Iso and AMC and building the occasional car for an admiring client.
A total of 133 examples were produced from 1965 through 1968.
