by Mike –
Many years ago the writer, Wallace Wyss, reports he was sent some snapshots of a Bizzarrini Strada from New York or New Jersey. He recalls the car as follows,
It was pale yellow and had a vent taking in air at the B-piller something like a Miura vent but bulging. There were little scoops on the rear of the rocker panels, also similar to a Miura.
It had chrome lettering that said “Bizzarrini P538” on the B-piller even though this is a GT 5300 or GT America. It is pictured in the “Road & Track Exotic Cars” October 23, 1990 issue where it appears to have little wing lets at the front end similar to those on the Gulf GT40 to prevent nose lift. I asked the sellers of the car one question about printing the pictures and they got violent and threatened me not to print the pictures.
“Road & Track” said the people with the car were D & M Autowerkes in Edison, New York. Wyss is curious to know if he can classify this is as a barn find. Does anybody know what they paid for it in Italy? The chassis number? And what they were offering it for in the U.S.?
Wyss also reports that he may have told his friend Filippo Pola about it who bought a Bizzarrini with the wrong body and tried to get it re-bodied at least twice in Italy but both times he thought they were not correct.
Mr. Pola has since died so Wyss is not knowledgeable about the distribution of his many cars. He also wants to know if this yellow Bizzarrini shown below was the same one he once had pictures of from New York or New Jersey?
The Mystery Bizzarrini GT 5300
If anyone knows anything about this car leave a message in the Comments.
This is chassis #260, and I last heard of it in 2007, owned by Marcello Caruso in Italy. I’m not aware of the current state of it, but I would imagine it’s had a restoration by now, given the current values of Bizzarrinis.
Indeed Chris, this is #260 earlier owned by Mr Tomljanovich. Car went to Italy but I am afraid the name “Marcello Caruso” is not the real name of the owner but one of the pseudos our friend uses.
Of course it will have had a total make over but in the past years it never surfaced with that VIN.
I have some photos taken during restoration of the car. Never saw the result.
Ciao,
Jack
This is indeed the car I saw in the late 1980’s in Edison, NJ at the shop of D&M. No question about it, this car was in NJ at the time.
Thanks for the quick answers. if anybody has a price it was offered for by D & M in New Jersey, maybe from an classified ad, like to hear that price and the year it was offered . Any explanation why it would have a Porsche body in the back? Must have been hit hard at one point. It might have had silver paint in the back as well as yellow. Can we print a list of probable owners even if some of the names are pseudonyms.
At the Ferraris on Colorado event in Pasadena I usually see a firend of Mr. Polas, I can ask him if he remembers the Bizzarrini as he was over in Italy visiting Pola at one time and may have seen the collection.
Wallace,
I can tell you the car was offered i R&T in 1973 for $ 9,750
Best,
Ciao,
Jack
I would have liked to see that P538 emblem