New, open-top Bizzarrini 5300 has us at hello
Want modern luxury with '60s-style elegance? The Aperta Lusso adds a lovely, cooling breeze to the experience
We’re used to Italian car names sounding the business, but Bizzarrini 5300 Aperta Lusso really does take the biscuit. It’s the sort of thing you imagine Danny Ocean murmuring when asked what car he would choose to drive along the French Riviera. And while it sounds like it must have heralded from the deep past, it is in fact the first all-new (as in, not a continuation) production Bizzarrini since the ‘60s. Even if it is clearly an open-top version of the existing 5300 GT.
That car, you will likely recall, gatecrashed the PH consciousness back in 2022, as Bizzarrini declared itself reopen and fully prepared to build 24 examples of the fabled, V8-engine GT car. Having presumably completed that project, it has evidently moved on to a design that never made beyond the drawing board in period; Giotto Bizzarrini and Giorgetto Giugiaro are said to have ‘envisaged’ a model with removable roof panels, but the firm didn’t survive long enough for it to be anything more than a pipe dream.
And well, if 2026 is good for anything, it is exhuming old ideas with cutting-edge materials and what seems like, from a distance, an unlimited development budget. The modern take on the 5300, for all its old-world appearance, is built around a single piece of carbon fibre, fused to a semi-monocoque bonded chassis. In order not to compromise its structural integrity, a steel-reinforced assembly has been added to the transmission tunnel alongside a cross-body brace. That this combination surpasses the torsional rigidity of the ‘60s model is hardly a surprise.
Bizzarrini says the two roof panels are also made from carbon fibre, making them light enough ‘to be removed and stowed in the luggage compartment by one person’. So it’s very much a DIY solution, though you wouldn’t imagine many owners will be venturing out if rain is on the cards. Unless it's to test the sealing system that Bizzarrini had to design from scratch. But we, being paupers, wouldn’t want to risk the leather, nor the instrument panel’s single piece of timber, nor indeed a gearknob crafted in Italian tortoiseshell inlaid with gold details.
That gearknob is connected to a five-speed Tremec TKX transmission, which in turn is connected to Bizzarrini’s heavily breathed on 5.3-litre small block V8. This outputs ‘well over’ 400hp, and is distinguished from the previous GT Corsa’s engine by the introduction of port fuel injection where previously there were Weber 40DCOEs - though the manufacturer has gone to the trouble of making it look like the carbs are still fitted. There’s a hand-fabricated Inconel exhaust, as well, which has been tuned to deliver ‘a visceral note under load’ despite the presence of catalytic converters.
Bizzarrini promises more modern convenience from the cabin, too, in the shape of air con, an adjustable steering column, and even MagSafe charging. Plus, of course, you get the satisfaction of knowing that the original spec double wishbone suspension is backed by Koni dampers, magnesium wheels, four-piston Alcon brakes and electro-hydraulically assisted steering. How much will you pay for this synthesis of modernity and museum-grade beauty? Bizzarrini doesn’t say, but there will only be ten examples to begin with, so assume a mind-boggling amount.
Anyway this looks magnificent but I’ll have it as a wallpaper please.
Anyway this looks magnificent but I ll have it as a wallpaper please.
Stunning car
1) Giving it a robust chassis, not some flimsy 1960s relic that would kill you if you collided with a pram at any speed above walking pace.
2) Ditching PITA carbs and fitting EFI, plus ensuring the latter is port and not direct.
For the beards that know far more than me, what regulations and how are stopping manufacturers from making mainstream cars in this vein? I know you have various rules for pedestrian protection and lights etc, just wondering just how many of then are restricting.
Personally i'd love a mainstream cross between an Elise, Porsche 944/FC RX7 /Alfa 4C car in this vein.
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