American built V8’s are a grand choice for an engine swap, and that theory rang true back in the 1960’s as well. The Cobra became a great car once receiving its Ford sourced heart, and this 1966 Bizzarrini 5300 Strada packs 5.3l of Corvette fury! Now some of you may be scratching your heads as Bizzarrini is more famously known for the design and creation of the Lamborghini V12 that was used for several decades. Certainly rare and borderline mythical considering only 133 were built, this Strada is a fabulous low mileage survivor. Parked since the 1980’s, this very rare and stylish Italian is offered at a price that only a few will muster the courage to inquire on. Check out this beauty here on the Classic Driver. Thanks to Dominic Ortiz for the very rare opportunity!
Beneath the sleek and narrow bonnet is a snarling 327 V8 from a Corvette that offers roughly 370 horsepower. Only available with a 4 speed manual, and a limited slip, the Strada is certainly a classy sports car. With little corrosion under the bonnet, this engine bay is dusty, but with little in the way of imperfections. Currently not running, it is thought that this beauty has covered only 8,907 miles! Could you imagine NOT driving such a machine with an engine that has affordable parts and is easy to service? It is good that the owner was wise enough to make this car such an investment, as I would have put a a hundred thousand miles on it or more.
Taking a look inside reveals a classic sports car interior that just pulls at your emotions. Simple, yet functional, this interior allows the driver to take in all of the senses of driving without all the complicated items that came to take over modern days sports cars. Despite my reminiscing, this interior is nice, but there are a few condition issues to make note of. The shift boot is ripped, and the cloth on the dash appears to no longer be glued in place. Perhaps a professional could sort out that loose fabric. The driver side carpet has a certain look to it which almost seems that moisture may have been an issue at some point but it is difficult to tell. The steering wheel is wrapped with what looks to be electrical tape on each spoke making me curious if the wood wheel is starting to separate at each spoke? The seats have a lovely patina, looking to offer all the comforts of a broken-in leather recliner.
Giotto Bizzarrini was an artist and a genius as his art in the form of the Lamborghini V12 was both functional and beautiful, much like the 5300 Strada. With incredible looks and styling, this low production sports car is truly an exotic that deserves more praise. Sleek with a low roof line, this low mileage beauty has been tucked away for many years, but looks to have lived a comfy life in a nice climate with only dust to contend with over the years. A solid washing and detailing would return the shine to this classic. Thankfully there is little damage to be seen, but with a car this rare and valuable every little rock chip is a concern. With that being said there are only a couple of identifiable issues with this car. First of all there is a scuff on the bottom edge of the trunk lid. The next concern is difficult to make out, but something is definitely going on. The driver side rocker into the rear quarter area appears to be mismatched, repaired, faded, or perhaps buffed and cleaned? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something at some point has gone on with this area. There is no damage to be seen in this area, but it is curious to say the least. Rare, exotic, beautiful, and powered with some good old American heart, what do you think the price is on this Bizzarrini?
That… is one car I would LOVE to have!
Looks llike a GM shifter, and boy would hate to have to put points in that 327..
There is a hole built into the dashboard to service the dizzy.
HEI ( if the cap will clear- doubtful, I’d say) or one of the single wire electronic
conversions.
Convert it to Electric power.
no
The reason the dealer says “Price on request” in his ad is because, in excellent condition these sell at auction for around $900,000. I don’t think anyone is going to be converting this to electric anytime soon.
Bizzarini made around 100 of them, and since the ’60s there have been some “recreations”—-not necessarily to cheat anyone, but just because these are striking handbuilt cars. And since they are so desirable, it’s no surprise that someone might make more of them by hand.
Anyway, some examples have a racing history, and they all look terrific. And they have an easily serviced Corvette V8….if you can get at it. Just bring money, lots of it.
To me, this is what “Barn Finds” is all about. She is beautiful, would really like to know more about the suspension and how these cars handled.
Needs a SBC….oh wait. Nevermind!
Sorry, just seems like on every other post, someone suggest a SBC or LS swap. I wanted to best them to the punch.
This car had a repaint at some time so the mismatched areas don’t matter that much now in this case. The rear bumper studs should be black, that’s one of the giveaways of a (quick) repaint. I heard it’s about $1.6 Million asking and it hard to compare because there are no comps out there…
Missing front and rear bumpers -lower front quarter vents louvers are put in the wrong direction. It clearly been repainted. where is the radio ? there a speaker and antenna but can see the radio ? Electric window switches I believe should mounted in the center heater core cover not in the door panels? Inside door handles don’t look to be correct. Spare tire is not correct this style Dunlop should be the older style dog bone design. Correct design Dunlop Nylon 185 HR 15 SP original spare tire should be.
Maurice, the Sports Car Market magazine ‘Guide’ tracks actual recent auction prices paid for excellent condition cars, and the number they have in their current Guide for these cars is $900K. That’s where I git the number I mentioned above.
That makes an asking of $1.6 mil for this car look high.
I think I know this car. He broke the oil pan and parked it. Yes it was repainted. If this came from Michigan that’s the car.
I may be wrong. but I bet that those tail lights are from a Fiat 850 coupe… Cool car. Very cool car.
That bet you lost Pete! Fiat 850 is close, so is Ferrari 275GTB but these are Iso Grifo A3/C and Bizzarrini only.
But didja know that the original Ford GT40’s of the 1960s used Simca 1000 tail lights? Cool, huh! To think that the horrible buzz box I drove in high school had the same tail end illumination as those legendary race cars, gee if I’d known then, maybe I woulda felt “cooler” driving the little frogmobile!
No, the rear lights are original Bizzarrini
I like the can of Simonize in the trunk. Nice touch. Maybe it’s NOS.
I know it probably won’t matter to the person who buys this, but why couldn’t they just wash the grime off and break out that can of Simoniz in the trunk? It sure wouldn’t make it any less gorgeous.
I worked on one some years ago. There were two basic versions, Alloy body and fiberglass body. They all had a BW T10 trans and a E type jag diff. The Front end is pure Fiat 2300 .Under that fancy skin is a tube chassis and most will have really awful panel work. It’s As if the body builders were in some kind of hurry or the clients budget was a bit tight (well actually it was both) . The Chevy n the one i was involved with had to rebuilt but I am sure it had the Wrong heads etc. The Chassis had been cut apart at the rear to enable the diff to be removed as a unit by a previous resto shop…… Unless you are a wealthy collector,just look these up on you tube and read the various articles about them as they are beyond the income bracket of ordinary wage slaves. A shame really as there is no actual value in most of the components. https://youtu.be/j_sLz7hMyTY
I’m a little surprised the seller hasn’t tried to get it running.
I know a mechanic near Pisa/Livorno in Italy that would bring this back to life like it just left the factory. Been to his shop and seen several bodies, motors and what he doesn’t have or can’t get….he will make! An absolute artist who has been sued by Ferrari for his replicas of their early cars!!
This is why I like barn finds! Awesome cars like this I have never seen!
Great find
133, well that makes the L’il Chev or CanAm even rarer at 100 only – Don’t think I’ll get a 900k price tag though unless some clever marketing happens. Seriously though, that is a nice find. Side view looks a bit odd/squashed look, may be the lens they used though.
No, the rear lights are original Bizzarrini
nice….
Dunno… mixed feelings on these cars. Relatively rare, but the styling just doesn’t quite do it for me. From some angles it’s quite sexy, directly from the side it looks like someone kicked it under the chin. The whole center of the car seems visually “heavy” and doesn’t flow with the front fascia. Eh… can’t afford it anyway!
Keep ik mind the whole thing is only like 43 inches tall. The photos don’t really do these justice. The funny nose is so close to the ground in reality they look sort of like a lower, wider miura. Just really striking.
Back in the 70s when I was a teenager I learned how to paint cars from a guy that had a bunch of questionable characters for customers anyhow one of these guys had a big block powered bizzarrini that we painted for him anyhow I got to take it for a drive man was it cool and fast. Same guy had 2 Maserati Ghiblis, I got to take those both for a drive also not quite as fast but every bit as cool, not sure what the bizzarrini was worth back then but the giblees were selling for around 30 grand. Of course the fact that I took those cars for a drive was our little secret until now
Back in the 70s when I was a teenager I learned how to paint cars from a guy that had a bunch of questionable characters for customers anyhow one of these guys had a 427 big block Chev powered bizzarrini that we painted for him anyhow I got to take it for a drive man was it cool and fast. Same guy had 2 Maserati Ghiblis, we painted one Pearl yellow with candy Orange fades and painted the other one black cherry with gold fades. I got to take those both for a drive also, not quite as fast but every bit as cool, not sure what the bizzarrini was worth back then but the giblees were selling for around 30 grand. Of course the fact that I took those cars for a drive was our little secret until now
I know this was a double post, but the story is well worth it! Thanks for sharing.
Nice vintage article on a similar Bizzarrini.
http://www.sportscars.tv/Newfiles/bizz.html
In 1971 I worked for a shop called Sports & Imports in abq and one of our regulars had one of these. Very cool but at the time we thought it was some kind of wannabe. Little did we know… Another client had Daimler SP 250, lots of Alfas, Volvos. The owner was kinda shady, was putting a lowered floor in a VW bus (guess what for) and the FBI used to sit on top of the hill and watch us. 20 years later In the mid 80s the FBI walks in my store and asks if I knew the whereabouts of (nameless)? I told them I had not seen the guy since then. Thankfully that didn’t effect me as my company got lots of work from Los Alamos, White Sands and more.
After the posts by Boxfin and Rick I am starting to wonder if any of these were owned by people with legitimate income.