BIZZARRINI GIOTTO – Named Bizzarrini Giotto, the new supercar designed by Giugiaro’s GFG Style that will open a new chapter for the brand founded in 1964 by the famous engineer from Livorno, born in ’26, and returned to the limelight a couple of years ago thanks to the automotive division of Pegasus Brands, a well-known luxury car dealer with offices in London, Geneva, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Back to the past
The rebirth path of this small Livorno based company, whose parabola ended in the short span of six years but left the motoring world such masterpieces as the 5300 GT berlinetta and the P538 and P57 racing barchettas, had begun in the summer of 2021 with the announcement of the imminent start of production of a small series of 5300 GT Revival Corsa 24/65s. Twenty-four units only, built to the original specifications of the legendary 0222 chassis example with which French drivers Regis Fraissinet and Jean de Mortemart in the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans won the class reserved for cars above five liters of displacement.
In the elite ranks of the greatest designers of all time, Giotto Bizzarrini occupies a place apart. At the court of some of Italy’s most prestigious automakers, from Alfa Romeo to Ferrari to Iso Rivolta, the Tuscan designer, now 96, with his brilliant insights played a key role in the development of the Ferrari 250 GTO and in the design of Lamborghini’s first engine, that legendary V12 that emitted its first wail in the early 1960s and from which whole generations of powertrains that the Sant’Agata Bolognese-based company mounted under the hoods of its bolides until 2010 were developed.
A new supercar
Leveraging the myth, the activity of rebuilding the cars of the past is a very important part of the journey that led to the rebirth of the Bizzarrini brand. But it is not the only one. The fledgling British-Italian automaker has decided to measure itself on the terrain of modern supercars as well, throwing down a gauntlet to an industry holy monster like the Pagani Huayra. To do so, it has packaged a car that promises “fireworks”: the Bizzarrini Giotto was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro (GFG Style), who sixty years ago traced the forms of the Bizzarrini 5300 GT. The new Bizzarrini Giotto evokes the timeless elegance of that model, projecting it into an ultramodern dimension.
Of the new Bizzarrini Giotto, the company has released in recent hours an initial roundup of renderings that foreshadow the appearance of the real car, which will set its wheels on the road for initial testing in 2024. Made of composite materials, the low, wide and muscular body is made up of soft, curvaceous surfaces, with a drop tail to more effectively dispose of the air flows that will lap it at high speeds. In this regard, the performance provided by the engine, a large and powerful Lamborghini-derived naturally aspirated V12, has not yet been declared, but it will certainly not deviate much from that of an Aventador, a “beast” capable, in the powerful Ultimae version that accompanied it into retirement last year, of “burning” the “0-100” in less than three seconds and exceeding 350 km/h. Bizzarrini’s technical director, Chris Porritt, made it clear in an official note that with the Giotto the ultimate goal is “not to chase acceleration times or lap records, but to develop a car for experienced drivers” who in a dream car seek first and foremost “purity, authenticity and rarity.”
