Bizzarrini Manta

The first

Giorgetto Giugiaro and Giotto Bizzarrini had known each other for several years. Exactly how they came together is no longer known, but their first collaboration was on the ASA, followed shortly by Iso Rivolta. The two men never agreed on the extent of Giugiaro’s involvement in the Iso A3/C and the Bizzarrini GT 5300; Bizzarrini liked to say that he had to make Giugiaro’s design work first. But back then, in 1968, the relationship between the two Italians was still excellent; they remained friends throughout their lives, despite certain differences of opinion. And they were able to help each other at the time: Bizzarrini needed money once again, Giugiaro a suitable chassis with a decent engine. And then there was the P538 with the chassis number 003 (or at least certain remains), which was equipped with a Corvette engine and had already raced at Le Mans.

In 2009, Giotto Bizzarrini is reported to have said: ‘This Manta is not a Bizzarrini at all. I had nothing to do with it. It is 100 per cent built by Giugiaro’s Italdesign’. Well, Giotto Bizzarrini sometimes had memory lapses, sometimes even a little too much imagination when it came to his own vehicles. It is highly likely that various parts of the ‘destroyed’ P538001 and the ‘forgotten’ P538003 were used for the Manta. This is also confirmed by Giorgetto Giugiaro.

40 days, they say. 40 days is how long Giorgetto Giugiaro gave himself to build his first ‘own’ vehicle for Italdesign. He and his small team at Italdesign made it – and it was a great success, an important car for history. The basis was, of course, ideal: a Bizzarrini P538, a lightweight racing car. Giugiaro stretched a body over it that had never been seen before: a kind of half-moon made of folded paper with a comb-like rear end. One of the very first unibox designs. But it wasn’t just the exterior that was exciting; Giugiaro also broke new ground on the inside: the driver sat in the centre, with two passengers slightly offset to the rear on his left and right. Even by today’s standards, the Manta’s dimensions are astounding: the car is 4.13 metres long, a full 1.86 metres wide and just 1.05 metres high.

The Manta was first exhibited at the Motor Show in Turin in 1968 – Giugiaro had actually been able to keep to his ambitious schedule. It was painted in a light green with orange highlights – which attracted even more attention. Later, the car was repainted silver and then red and presented to an astonished audience in the US – Giugiaro had achieved his goal. On its way back to Europe, the Manta was ‘lost’ and was auctioned off by customs authorities ten years later. Today, the vehicle is more beautiful than ever. (Photos unten: Vesa Eskola)

This is an extract from the print edition of radical #2.