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Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Bizzarrini Show Car At Auction
Unique 1968 creation by the famed Giorgietto Giugiaro will be offered during Gooding’s Pebble Beach sale.
The Bizzarrini Manta was a ground-breaking design unveiled at the 1968 Turin Motor Show in Italy. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)
One of the most striking and unusual cars at Gooding & Company’s upcoming Pebble Beach auction is the Bizzarrini Manta, a one-of-a-kind 1968 show car created by the famed designer Giorgietto Giugiaro. The estimate for this unique piece of history is a hefty $1 million - $1.5 million.
In 1999, Giugiaro was named the “Car Designer of the Century” by a jury of 132 international journalists. He had started as a 17-year-old at Fiat and subsequently worked for Bertone and Ghia before establishing ItalDesign in 1968. Eager to make his mark, he launched his company with this Bizzarrini Manta later in the year at the Turin Motor Show.
The fully functional show car was based on a Bizzarrini P538 chassis that had two years earlier raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After Giugiaro was done with it, there was little that reminded of the car's racing roots. He penned a ground-breaking “one-box” design with a profile that consisted of a single line. Painted acid-green, the Manta was definitely one of the stars of the show and certainly established ItalDesign as one of the leading automotive stylists.
In 2005, the Manta returned to the public eye, sporting its original colors for the first time since 1968. In the following years, we captured every detail of the still-spectacular Bizzarrini at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. The owner has now decided to part with the car and consigned it to Gooding, which will offer it next week at their annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance sale.
The Bizzarrini Manta was the fruit of a collaboration between two Italian motoring greats at opposite phases of their respective careers. Designer Giorgietto Giugiaro had just established his own company, ItalDesign, for which the Manta was the very first design. On the other hand, the P538 on which the show car was based represented the end of the line for Giotto Bizzarrini as an independent manufacturer. Judging from the result, the two men timed their collaboration just right.
Following spells at Fiat, Bertone and Ghia, the still very young Giugiaro felt it was time to set up his design studio in 1967. Thanks to the quality of his previous designs, he had few problems securing funding. All he needed was a spectacular project that would ensure that the launch of his new company would not go unnoticed.
In the workshop of the ailing Bizzarrini company, he found the suitable basis for his new show car. This was the mid-engine P538, which had previously been raced at Le Mans but now lingered in a corner waiting for a new purpose.
Conceived late in 1965, the P538 was the first clean-sheet design from Giotto Bizzarrini for his own company. It was built for an American customer, and the first two examples were fitted with Lamborghini's V12 engine, another Bizzarrini design. Intended for competition, the third chassis was equipped with the small-block Chevrolet V8 that was also used in the marque's front-engine cars.
In 1999, Giugiaro was named the “Car Designer of the Century” by a jury of 132 international journalists. He had started as a 17-year-old at Fiat and subsequently worked for Bertone and Ghia before establishing ItalDesign in 1968. Eager to make his mark, he launched his company with this Bizzarrini Manta later in the year at the Turin Motor Show.
The fully functional show car was based on a Bizzarrini P538 chassis that had two years earlier raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After Giugiaro was done with it, there was little that reminded of the car's racing roots. He penned a ground-breaking “one-box” design with a profile that consisted of a single line. Painted acid-green, the Manta was definitely one of the stars of the show and certainly established ItalDesign as one of the leading automotive stylists.
In 2005, the Manta returned to the public eye, sporting its original colors for the first time since 1968. In the following years, we captured every detail of the still-spectacular Bizzarrini at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. The owner has now decided to part with the car and consigned it to Gooding, which will offer it next week at their annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance sale.
The Bizzarrini Manta was the fruit of a collaboration between two Italian motoring greats at opposite phases of their respective careers. Designer Giorgietto Giugiaro had just established his own company, ItalDesign, for which the Manta was the very first design. On the other hand, the P538 on which the show car was based represented the end of the line for Giotto Bizzarrini as an independent manufacturer. Judging from the result, the two men timed their collaboration just right.
Following spells at Fiat, Bertone and Ghia, the still very young Giugiaro felt it was time to set up his design studio in 1967. Thanks to the quality of his previous designs, he had few problems securing funding. All he needed was a spectacular project that would ensure that the launch of his new company would not go unnoticed.
In the workshop of the ailing Bizzarrini company, he found the suitable basis for his new show car. This was the mid-engine P538, which had previously been raced at Le Mans but now lingered in a corner waiting for a new purpose.
Conceived late in 1965, the P538 was the first clean-sheet design from Giotto Bizzarrini for his own company. It was built for an American customer, and the first two examples were fitted with Lamborghini's V12 engine, another Bizzarrini design. Intended for competition, the third chassis was equipped with the small-block Chevrolet V8 that was also used in the marque's front-engine cars.
Lamborghini 50th Anniversary Parade
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