LONDON: Only 24 of the revived Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa racing car are being made and now the first customer has taken delivery of this hand-built homage to the 1965 Le Mans-winner.
Each of the 24 continuation models is finished in Bizzarrini Rosso Corsa red, with white numbered roundels so that the client can choose their own unique number to be hand-applied to the car.
Further examples of the sleek machine, which costs €3.4 million (RM15.5mil) to buy, are being completed and shipped until the limited production run is fully delivered in 2023.
The car is a tribute to the 5300 GT Corsa chassis #0222, which achieved legendary status at the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hours. French racing drivers Regis Fraissinet and Jean de Mortemart drove the 5300 to finish first in its class.
Chassis #0222 ran the race at an average speed of 169km/h and clocked 303km/h on the famous Mulsanne straight before Giotto Bizzarrini himself drove the car back home to Northern Italy after the race.
The new cars are built using the original blueprints, using components from original suppliers, with the input of experts originally involved in the 5300 GT project.
The hand-built vehicles use a lightweight single piece composite body, over a steel frame giving an overall weight in the region of 1,230 kilos. Inside, the two seats are protected by a more comprehensive six-point roll cage and safety fuel cell.
Independent rear suspension to Giotto's Corsa specification and all-round disc brakes are paired with a 5.3-litre V8 engine with Weber 45 carburettors developing some 400hp to give a power to weight ratio comparable with a modern-day supercar.
"The team are incredibly proud to see the first 5300GT Corsa Revival leave the factory on the way to its new owner," said Bizzarrini chief Simon Busby.
Bizzarrini will show a full production specification model of the revival series at the Concours of Excellence at Hampton Court in southern England on Sept 2-4.
