Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada

Vehicle Overview

The Bizzarrini 5300 GT was inspired in its design by that created by Giorgetto Giugiaro for the Iso Grifo A3C. In addition to the racing versions, there was a more spartan version and one more enriched in the interior with additional comforts such as radio and air conditioning. In the interior, the seating surface was level and the driving position semi-recumbent. The seat was not adjustable, but was custom built for the driver directly at the factory. In the center of the dashboard was a bulky transmission tunnel from which emerged a short gearshift lever. In the Spartan version, the main instruments, speedometer, tachometer and fuel level, were located in the center of the leather-covered dashboard at the tunnel while in front of the driver were the three secondary gauges: oil temperature, oil pressure and water temperature. In contrast, the comfort-equipped version had almost all the instrumentation grouped in front of the driver, behind the steering wheel in a massive wooden console. The radio was generally placed in front of the passenger or above the center tunnel. The Bizzarrini 5300 GT was powered by a 5,385cc Chevrolet-derived V8 with an 11:1 compression ratio, fed by a Holley four-barrel carburetor that developed the power of 365 hp. The transmission was a Borg-Warner 4-speed manual. The ratios were fitted at the precise request of the customers, who could choose between two transmissions. The 5300 GT accelerated from 0/100 Km/h in just under 6.5 seconds and the top speed was 250 Km/h with short transmission while 280 Km/h could be reached with long transmission. Later on, Bizzarrini marketed a modification for their cars and it had become the habit of customers to upgrade their bolides to make them even faster and better performing. This was a special manifold for the application of four Weber 45 DCOE double-body carburetors and cams with different profiles. The kit allowed the Bizzarrini 5300 GT to reach 400hp and travel at about 300 km/h. In fact, the kit can be found on both competition and road cars.