To be sold at the Gooding & Company Pebble Beach Auctions on August 18 and 19, 2012. For further details please visit www.goodingco.com or contact a vehicle specialist at 001.310.899.1960 or specialist@goodingco.com.
Engine Specifications:
5,359 CC OHV Chevrolet V-8 Engine
Four Weber 45 DCOE Carburetors
Estimated 400 HP at 5,400 RPM
5-Speed ZF Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Servo-Assisted Disc Brakes, Inboard Rear
4-Wheel Independent Double-Wishbone Suspension with Coil Springs
About this Car:
Although automotive history is rife with tales of individual triumph, the most influential and lasting achievements have come from collaborative efforts and sheer circumstance. The Bizzarrini Manta, which combines the engineering genius of Giotto Bizzarrini and the influential styling of Giorgetto Giugiaro, exemplifies this truth. This purpose-built one-off, with its fascinating history and competition pedigree, stands out as one of the most remarkable show cars of the 1960s.
The story of the Manta begins during the latter half of 1965, when Giotto Bizzarrini set to work on what is generally regarded as his most sophisticated racing car – the P538.
Designed from a clean sheet, the P538 was Bizzarrini’s attempt to take on the greatest forces in international racing. Like the Ford GT40, Ferrari 250 P and Porsche 906 it would compete against, the P538 was a proper, mid-engine prototype designed strictly for competition use. Knowing full well that such an ambitious project would require a great deal of nurturing, Bizzarrini invested heavily in the creation and development of his ultimate competition car.
While the first two chassis were equipped with Lamborghini V-12s and sold to an American client, chassis 003 was the first P538 constructed to Bizzarrini’s intended specifications. In keeping with the company’s long-standing tradition, P538-003 was equipped with a highly tuned Corvette V-8 engine complete with four Weber side-draft carburetors. This robust powerplant was then married to a lightweight tubular space frame, ZF five-speed transaxle, fully independent suspension, disc brakes, alloy Campagnolo wheels and exotic fiberglass bodywork.
Constructed in Spring 1966, P538-003 made its competition debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a Scuderia Bizzarrini works entry. Wearing race No 10, the relatively untested P538 was entrusted to experienced Swiss drivers Edgar Berney and Andre Wicky. After a dramatic spin off the starting line, the Bizzarrini began to gain ground and record impressive lap times.
Early in the race, the P538 entered the pits for a routine stop. In the rush to return the car to the track, the pit crew jacked the car incorrectly, resulting in a cracked radiator pipe and coolant loss. Unfortunately for Scuderia Bizzarrini, the damage caused in the pits forced the P538 to retire in the second hour. Bizzarrini’s only other works entry, a GT America driven by Sam Posey and Massimo Natili, was later disqualified for an illegal pit stop.
After the disappointing results at Le Mans, P538-003 was campaigned only once more. In October 1966, the Bizzarrini sports racer finished 4th overall at a local Italian hill climb.
Following the racing season, the CSI announced new regulations that would dramatically affect the prototype category. Not only did the new rules limit capacity to five liters, but a minimum of 25 examples would also have to be built for homologation purposes. Overnight, the P538 was rendered obsolete, never having realized its full potential.
This dramatic turn of events would ultimately signal the end of Bizzarrini as an independent manufacturer. Because the P538 project consumed so much of the company’s liquid assets, Bizzarrini soon found himself in a compromised financial situation. In an effort to sell P538-003 and recoup much-needed funds, Bizzarrini reconfigured the car as a road-going coupe but found no willing takers.
While the P538 project was, in many ways, responsible for the downfall of Bizzarrini, it served as the foundation for an equally influential Italian automotive venture: Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Ital Design.
In 1967 Giugiaro, who had already showcased his talents at Fiat, Bertone and Ghia, was anxious to start out on his own. Having secured the necessary backing, all he needed was a suitable project. After learning of Bizzarrini’s financial difficulties and remaining P538s, Giugiaro drew up a plan to use the advanced sports racing chassis as the basis for a radical new breed of supercar. Giotto Bizzarrini, interested in removing the P538 from his books and generating newfound interest in his eponymous firm, was only too happy to oblige.
On February 13, 1968, Giorgetto Giugiaro founded Ital Design and furiously set to work on his first independent project. Free from the typical constraints faced by stylists, Giugiaro was able to push the boundaries of automotive design and break from tradition. A forward thinker, Giugiaro set out to create a highly efficient modern sports car, the first “one box” GT.
When Giuliano Molineri interviewed Giugiaro for Style Auto, the designer explained the ideas behind his first independent project and the aim of its production:
“Firstly, let me say that it was not my intention to carry out any stylistic virtuosity. In fact, for such exhibitions it is better to choose much more conventional themes, open to more fanciful inventions. Instead I restricted myself to a well- defined aim and tried to stick to it with the greatest coherence possible. Starting from a very simple idea I have, I think, reached an interesting result. Usually the stylist who has to design the bodywork of a rear-engined sports car tries, with a variety of devices, to develop the bonnet and entire front end, and lighten the rear in order to re-balance the masses. Instead of following this traditional criterion, I asked myself, was it not possible to load the rear, thus respecting reality in order to leave the engine all the room it deserves, and to reduce (if not exactly do away with completely) the front end, giving it a marginal role in the play of masses?”
In only 40 days, Giugiaro went from a basic sketch to the fully functioning prototype we see today.
The groundbreaking design features a continuous line from nose to roof and again from roof to tail. This bold line allows for a radical 15° rake to the windscreen and substantial glass surface that stretches beyond the B-pillar, allowing a glimpse of the intake trumpets. In an effort to break the planar surface area of the rear deck, Giugiaro inserted two groups of five transverse louvers, highlighted by a dramatic contrast in color, and a split bumper that folded over onto the tail. From the profile, the overall design is crisp and formal, the only embellishment being the brushed aluminum rocker panel, with its industrial “drilled” motif.
The unusual width of the chassis, more than six feet across, allowed Giugiaro to experiment with an avant-garde interior treatment. Perhaps inspired by Pininfarina’s legendary 365 P Specialé of 1966, Giugiaro developed a three-seat configuration with a center-drive arrangement. As the show car was intended to consider both aesthetic and practical concerns, the steering wheel was designed to collapse on impact.
In a clever reference to the car’s aggressive, flattened form, Giugiaro named his creation after the exotic manta ray. Finished in acid green with orange trim, the Bizzarrini Manta was truly a bold new vision for the future of sports cars.
As Giugiaro planned, the Bizzarrini Manta made its world debut at the 1968 Turin Motor Show, one of the leading venues for Italian coachbuilders to premier their latest creations. From its show stand in Turin, the Bizzarrini Manta stunned the automotive world and clearly announced that Giorgetto Giugiaro had arrived as an independent designer. The first Ital Design project was an unbridled success.
Over the next several months, the Manta appeared in countless automotive publications and graced the cover of Road & Track’s March 1969 issue. In discussing the finer qualities of the Manta, Road & Track’s correspondents were quick to realize the young designer’s talent and vision.
“He is the maestro. As an individual, he dominates his art as perhaps no one before. Acknowledged as the best by most of his colleagues and rivals, he is also considered the best by countless other lovers of the art who don’t even know his name... [It] is Giorgetto Giugiaro, and his art is automobile styling.”
Likewise, Motor Trend proclaimed, “Once again, Giugiaro, Turin’s 28-year-old boy genius showed new ways in car design,” and hailed the Bizzarrini Manta
as “one of the major stars of the exhibit.”
After its sensational debut at the Turin Motor Show, the Manta returned to Ital Design where it was repainted red and decorated with contrasting white and blue racing stripes. From there, the Manta was shipped to Japan for exhibit at the Tokyo Racing Car Show and later to Los Angeles, California, where it was displayed in the 1969 Auto Expo.
Despite its many international accolades and state-of-the-art design, the Bizzarrini Manta’s career was remarkably brief. What happened to the car during the 1970s remains something of a mystery. After it was shown at the Los Angeles Auto Expo, the Manta disappeared on its return trip to Italy.
In 1978 or 1979, the Manta finally reappeared at a Port of Genoa Customs auction. It was there that Italian industrialist and sports car enthusiast Giovanni Giordanengo of Cuneo discovered and purchased the long-lost Manta.
After taking delivery of the Manta, Sig. Giordanengo commissioned Carrozzeria SD to perform a thorough restoration. As luck would have it, the small coachbuilder on the outskirts of Turin was owned and operated by Salvatore Diomante, Bizzarrini’s former production line foreman.
In October 1982, Swedish Bizzarrini enthusiast Ulf Larsson heard of the Manta’s availability and immediately acquired it for his collection. During Mr. Larsson’s ownership, the glorious Giugiaro show car returned to the limelight. In 1988, the Manta was shipped to Italy to take part in Ital Design’s 20th anniversary celebration and repainted silver in honor of the special occasion. Ten years later, the Manta returned to Italy for Ital Design’s 30th anniversary and a special display at the Turin Motor Show.
A few years later, noted Texas collector Alfredo Brener purchased the Manta and commissioned Rod Drew of FAI in Costa Mesa, California, to perform a complete restoration that would faithfully return the car to its original 1968 Turin Motor Show appearance. In March 2005, with the restoration nearing completion, Mr. Brener sold the Manta to the current caretaker, a Southern California collector with a passion for exotic sports cars.
The Manta made its post-restoration debut in dramatic style, winning First in Class (Chevrolet Small Block with European Coachwork) at the 2005 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Since its appearance at Pebble Beach, the Manta has continued to win awards wherever it is shown, from Design Excellence honors at the concours at Amelia Island and Palos Verdes to First in Class and People’s Choice at Concorso Italiano.
Even more than its impressive list of concours honors, the Manta’s inclusion in significant design exhibitions and museum displays underscores its tremendous influence and unique place in the history of automotive design.
In 2008, the Manta was shipped to Europe, where it took part in several prestigious exhibitions. The Manta appeared at Villa d’Este, where it was displayed alongside two other influential concept cars of the 1960s – the Lancia Stratos prototype and the Dino Berlinetta Competizione.
Additionally the Manta went to the Geneva Auto Show, where it was included in a special 40th anniversary of Ital Design display, and then on to the Dream Exhibition held at the World Design Capital in Turin. For this unique museum exhibit, 50 significant concept cars from Europe’s finest collections were selected to represent six decades of Italian design. Most recently, the Manta was
The 1968 Turin Motor Show