1965 Bizzarrini P538 Steve Matchett Review // Mecum Monterey 2023

Описание: https://www.mecum.com/lots/1096131/19...

Though hardly a household name in American automotive circles, in Italy, Giotto Bizzarrini’s credentials are the stuff of legend, as he was the legendary project engineer behind Enzo Ferrari’s fabled 250 GTO, the original Lamborghini 3500 GT V-12 and the Iso Rivolta and Grifo. In 1964, Bizzarrini founded his own company, which he elaborately named “Prototipo Bizzarrini S.a.r.l., Progrettazione e Costruzioni Automobili.” Based in Livorno, Bizzarrini initially concentrated on building high-performance machines based on the Corvette-powered Grifo he had engineered for Renzo Rivolta’s Iso, but in Italy, only racing could confer full credibility on a car builder, a fact that drove the creation of the Bizzarrini P538 (Posteriore, 5.3L V-8).

Wrapped in Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed fiberglass bodywork bonded directly to the spaceframe chassis, the P538 was as sleek as anything of its time, but FIA rules changed and looming bankruptcy prevented Bizzarrini from developing it. Instead, he dismantled at least one of the cars and hid the pieces away from the court’s prying investigators. Once matters were settled, in the early 1970s Bizzarrini and his wife Rosanna teamed with his former company foreman, Salvatore Diomante, to build a small number of P538s.

Among these second-generation cars was Chassis No. P538B04, commissioned by Frenchman Jacques Lavost. Built by Bizzarrini and Reali at Bizzarrini's home in Gabbro near Livorno, finishing and testing of the P538 started in the mid-‘70s at Diomante’s shop and it was completed in 1978 using the same components as the originals. A few revisions are featured in the Lavost Bizzarrini, most notably in the large cooling air intakes in the body sides and doors and larger triangular-section headrests with roll bars. Rebuilt in 2013, the driveline combines a Chevrolet 327 CI V-8 with four sidedraft Weber carburetors on a Campagnolo manifold and 180-degree headers with a manual gearbox.

Chassis No. P538B04 commissioned by Frenchman Jacques Lavost
Chassis built by Bizzarrini in the late 1960s at Bizzarrini's home in Gabbro near Livorno documented in Auto Italiana
Finishing and testing started in the mid 1970s at Salvatore Diomonte's shop
Single frame built with square tubes and radiators next to the engine instead in the front
Build completed in 1978
Built with a different front air-intake
Referenced in the book, Bizzarrini The Genius Behind Ferrari's Success