The 5300 GT Corsa Revival of 24 cars, at $2.1M each…
Imagine being sacked after designing the Ferrari 250 GTO, the 250 SWB, the advanced aerodynamics for the GTO Breadvan, all among the most legendary automobiles ever built. Surely lifting a couple of staplers for use at home or purloining one of Enzo’s fabled purple-inked pens wouldn’t have done it. In 1953, Giotto Bizzarrini joined Alfa Romeo as test driver and later as an engineer before joining Ferrari in 1957.
Known as the Palace Revolt, famed designer Giotto Bizzarrini along with other essential designers, were fired by Ferrari in a feat of pique. Enzo fired Giotto , Carlo Chita and 6 others, all due to what the designers felt was Enzo allowing his wife Laura to have a greater say in Ferrari day to day operations, and her interference in the design and engineering departments.
The story continues with Enzo accusing these men of attempting to start their own automobile company, and fortunately for the Bizzarrini GT, and though it took a while to get there, that’s exactly what happened.
After his push out the Ferrari door, he designed Lamborghini’s first V12, then went on to a fortunate meeting with Italian industrialist, Renzo Rivolta, produced a couple of beautiful cars manufactured like the Iso Griffo, before hitting a home run with this fabulous machine, the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada and 5300 GT Corsa. The 5300 GT Corsa won its class and came in first at the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans, beating his old nemesis Ferrari. Unfortunately, financing simply ran out and Bizzarrini went out of business in 1969.
Resurrecting Bizzarrini
The 5300 GT Corsa was light, fast and reliable, powered by a tried and tested front-mid mounted V8 engine, with 50:50 weight distribution and independent rear suspension. The car is famed for its performance in the1965 Le Mans 24 Hour Race. That summer, French racing drivers Regis Fraissinet and Jean de Mortemart took the over 5-litre class win at Le Mans, in what has become perhaps the most legendary 5300 GT of all time. That car is now owned by Los Angeles collector, Bruce Meyer, who let Jay Leno slip behind the wheel of his famous machine.
After Fraissinet and de Mortemart ran the race at an average speed of 169km/h, Giotto Bizzarrini himself drove the car home to Livorno, Northern Italy. A true racing car for the road.
Pegasus Brands bought up the rights to the Bizzarrini brand in 2018, which included all trademarks, intellectual property and other assets.The Kuwaiti-owned Pegasus Brands is an international automotive dealer group that represents luxury brands such as Aston Martin, Koenigsegg, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Pegasus runs its far-flung operations in London, Geneva, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, USA, and the Far East. Pegasus is in the process of building 24 exact examples of the fabulous 5300 GT Corsa.
The 5300 GT Corsa Revival 24/65 encapsulates the spirit of a bygone age of high-performance race cars, and the thin line that Bizzarrini drove between road and track. The Revival series is a true tool room continuation model. Each car is reverse engineered and hand-built, following the original factory drawings and blueprints, by a team of highly talented engineers and craftspeople with decades of experience at the cutting edge of competition sports car construction.
The use of a lightweight composite body, as was the original car, over a light tubular steel frame delivers a power to weight ratio comparable with that of a modern day supercar.
Driven by a front-mid mounted, period specific, 5300 cubic centimetre V8 engine delivering upwards of 400 horsepower, the Revival Edition has 50:50 weight distribution achieved via an engine block that sits so far back in the chassis, the distributor is adjusted through a cover in the dashboard. Safety is enhanced by the addition of an FIA certified full roll cage, safety belts, seats and fuel cell.
Almost impossibly low and exceptionally voluptuous, with a rear screen that is practically horizontal, the 5300 GT Corsa is dramatic from every angle. The cockpit is set within the flowing curves that extend all the way from the faired-in headlights through to the pared back rear end. Like all purist racing machines, the bodywork is broken only by deep air intakes for the engine and brakes; the distinctively minimal twin front vents give the car its characteristic Bizzarrini ‘face’.
At just 2700 pounds, the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Revival Corsa has excellent power to weight ratio, and each Bizzarrini 5300 GT Revival Corsa can be modified to match its customer’s exact specifications, including preparing it for the street.