THERE'S SOMETHING IRONIC BUT cars, including the original two-plus also fitting that a man who makes his two, the three-litre Testa Rossa and the living destroying cars spectacularly GTO. After quitting Ferrari with a should be hoarding a trio of what is number of other key men following a CULTOiR probably the ultimate cult car: Bizzarrini! famous rift in the early '60s, Bizzarrini That he just about has the world con moved to Lamborghini, where he worked cession on this particular breed of cult on the design of the 3.5litre V12 that car does not worry Hollywood stuntman was the basis of the legendary 350. FORA Carey Loftfn. Grey-haired but iron Finally hanging out his own shingle, nerved, he makes his bread by accom Bizzarrini found the role of a free plishing such mundane tasks as trying lancer frustrating. Various proposals ~DGl}( to run Steve McQueen off the road in were bought but never reached pro Bul/it or rolling a Beetle in Disney's duction, such as th·e one-litre Ferrarina The Love Bug. Loftin's infatuation with Baby Ferrari design bought by ASA or the Bizzarrini began with· his earlier the small Opel-powered coupe he ownership of another Italian-American designed for Fiat. But his big break was hybrid, the Iso Grifo. Wh ile his Iso the job with Iso, where he did the certainly moved rapidly enough along chassis and development work on the the highway to please him, Loftin fell in two-plus-two Rivolta and the GT car. love with the more fluid lines of the Knowing the value of racing as a two-seater Bizzarrini GT America (nee promotional tool, Bizzarrini donned After Builit and the Love Bug. home Is a Blzzarrini
By Wally Wyss
Strada GT 5300) which he discovered at racing togs two years in a row, at Le a Hollywood sports car dealers in 1968. Mans in 1964 and 1965, to run the After trying in vain to obtain an open competition Grifo AC3 to a first in class. version, Loftin ended up talking the The success at Le Mans prompted distributor out of his demonstrator. In orders for copies and Bizzarrini left the the ensuing months, he went bats for Iso organisation, taking the design for Bizzarrinis, buying two more. the AC3 with him. Giotto Bizzarrini himself was involved Setting up in a one-car-per-month with both the Iso Grifo and the car that operation in Turin, Bizzarrini hired a bears his name-and heaven only crew to weld-Up chassis from piles of knows what else in the future, although round and square section tubing, only the Turin Show last year was a fair to find out months later that the spot start for the 'seventies. When Renzo welded frames were too brittle to Rivolta, the prosperous Bresso manu withstand the torque of the Chevrolet facturer of Iso refrigerators, decided to Corvette engine. The bodies were built celebrate his success with the creation from aluminium by Bertone although a of a GT car bearing his name, he turned few fibreglass ones were tried without to the famous Bertone for a design at much success. The suspension was the very moment when Giugiaro was coil springs all round with unequal beginning his career at the place. For length A-arms up front and a de Dion Rivolta, Giugiaro developed a two-plus rear axle. Brakes were disc, with the two design that was restrained and rear ones mounted inboard. tasteful, and then pulled all the stops on Although some Bizzarrinis ran with a two-seater GT only 43 inches high. hydraulic lifters for quietness, Loftin This, the first Iso Grifo, was built in prefers the solid tappets for the extra aluminium on a chassis designed by revs they allow, but one of his cars, Rivolta's engineer, Giotto Bizzarrini. which is fitted with a TurboHydramatic Up until then, indeed until now, built up by specialist Balchowsky, runs Bizzarrini has had a checkered career. the smoother self-adjusting lifters. In He has played the roles of engineer, keeping with the goal of easy servicing racing driver and styliSt. He started out for the GT, which Loftin drives to at the University of Pisa, worked for shooting locations all over the country, three years at Alfa and joined Ferrari he uses a Holley four-barrel carburettor just in time to get in on the development rather than Bizzarrini's competition of some of their finest GT and racing set-up of an alloy head packing four
32 march 1973 CAR