THE BIZZARRINI THAT WON LE MANS

I bet most of you have never heard of the Bizzarrini – I certainly hadn't – but this car won its class in the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The story goes that a gentleman named Giotto Bizzarrini cut his teeth at Alfa Romeo and Ferrari before being dismissed from the latter. Apparently, Bizzarrini and a few colleagues suggested to Enzo Ferrari that either his wife goes or they go, and then staged what is called 'The Big Walkout'.

Bizzarrini then decided to go out on his own, partnered with one Renzo Rivolta and created the Iso Grifo A3/L, a GT road car engineered to take on the dominant Ferrari's.

His passion, however, seemed to sit with racing and his next car, the A3/C, was specifically manufactured to race. It had a Chevy 327 small block set far back under the hood and the body was designed to both look fantastic but to also slice through the air.

In 1965, the Iso Grifo A3/C took first in class and 9th overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A truly great achievement.

Bizzarrini is a talented chap, working with many Italian Super- and hypercars over the years, developing chassis, engines, and other advanced dynamic solutions for them.

Enjoy the show!