What's all this about?
A little-known Italian car manufacturer has come back from the dead with a new supercar designed by Giugiaro. Powered by a Lamborghini-derived V12, it’s called the Giotto, and it’s the first new car Bizzarrini has built in more than 50 years.
Hang on, what's a Bizzarrini?
Were you not paying attention in 1964? Bizzarrini was formed by Giotto Bizzarini — a former Ferrari engineer who’d had a big hand in the original 250 GTO — to make eponymous sports cars and racers. The brand was revived recently with a ‘continuation’ of the classic American-engined 5300 GT model.
Ah, so it’s all about re-making and restomodding classic sports cars?
Well, it was. Until now. The reborn Bizzarrini has just launched this, the Giotto, the company’s first all-new car since 1968. The Giotto is a modern mid-engined supercar which will be powered by a V12 engine that will have some connection to Lamborghini.
So it's just another deposit-baiting hypercar, then?
Maybe not. There are some pretty serious people involved in the project, including Chris Porrit, Bizzarrini’s cheif technical officer, who has led engineering divisions at Aston Martin, Tesla and Rimac. The Giotto will have an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and both a carbon-fibre body and a composite chassis. Bizzarrini says that it is “designed to meet or exceed worldwide safety standards, using technologies and manufacturing processes developed in top-tier motorsport.”
Porrit said: “We have a very clear vision for the Giotto, defined ultimately by how it makes a driver feel. Bizzarrini is a brand built on genius and passion, established by a polymath with world-class talents as a designer, engineer and test driver. We now very deliberately and authentically recreate Giotto’s vision, choosing not to chase acceleration times or lap records, but to develop a car that appeals to those experienced drivers seeking purity, authenticity and rarity. This is vocal and emotive, it’s mechanical and it’s tactile. But it’s also incredibly practical and luxurious, delivered with the personality and emotion of a bespoke Italian brand.”
who else is involved?
Well, to prove that it’s not kidding around, Bizzarrini has gone straight to supercar royalty for the design of the Giotto. It’s the work of none other than Giorgetto Giugiaro, arguably the greatest car designer of them all, and a man who’s career began in the Bizzarrini drawing office all those years ago. Giugiaro said: “To have the opportunity to design an entirely new car from Bizzarrini is a privilege. Our two names are united in nearly six decades of history and a series of now iconic designs. With the Giotto, we honour the past but we focus wholly on the future. Designed for purpose, and incorporating active aerodynamic technologies, we have created something that is both recognisably Bizzarrini and totally relevant for an entirely new era of this cherished Italian brand.”
So what happens now?
Well, the Giotto is really just some computer renderings right now, and the company hopes to start testing a real, physical car in 2024. In the meantime, it’s still delivering the last few 5300 GT recreations, so it’s not as if everyone’s just sitting around, twiddling their thumbs. Ian Fenton, Bizzarrini CEO, said: “As we continue to deliver the 24 examples of the 5300 GT Corsa Revival to customers all over the world, we now focus on the development of the Giotto. Envisioned as a car for connoisseurs, exclusively rare, built for pure enjoyment and luxury. The 5300 GT Corsa Revival was an introduction to the world of the genius of Bizzarrini but the Giotto is the centerpiece of our future as an exclusive supercar manufacturer. It forms the heart of a ten-year strategy that will see additional variants and more Revival models from Bizzarrini while also firmly placing this historic and revered name among the very best performance brands in the world.”
Neil Briscoe - 1 Feb 2023