Iso Bizzarrini A3/C 0222 has a remarkable history. The last and most successful of the Iso AC/3 Grifo race cars from the fabulous period

of sports car racing in the mid-1960s, it won its class and finished in ninth place overall in the Le Mans 24 Hours of 1965.

The A3/C was the creation of Giotto Bizzarrini, the engineer who developed the celebrated Ferrari 250GTO. It first appeared at the Turin Motor Show in 1963, along with the roadgoing Iso AC3/L Grifo, and was campaigned in two seasons of international sports car racing as an Iso, with the team run by Bizzarrini.

In a short but varied racing career, which included outings with two Grand Prix drivers, ‘222’ showed itself to be one of the world’s fastest racing sports and GT cars. Its top speed on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans, nearly 190mph, was bettered only by the 7-litre Ford GT Mk II.

After it had retired from racing, ‘222’ was rebadged as a Bizzarrini and sold as a road car to a colourful American living in Rome. It passed through several more owners before being completely renovated and prepared for historic car racing – where it once again achieved success at Le Mans.

Today, returned in every detail to its original race specification, it has a special place in the affections of enthusiast and car collector Bruce Meyer and resides in California.

This is the full story of ‘222’ and the against-the-odds efforts of Giotto Bizzarrini, a genius with the ambition to produce the best GT race car of its era.

Richard Heseltine is a journalist and author

specialising in classic and contemporary performance cars. A former staff member of Classic & Sports Car and Motor Sport, for whom he remains a regular contributor, he has also written extensively for Octane, Classic Cars and Auto Italia in addition to newspapers such as The Guardian. Richard has authored several books on subjects as diverse as the British specialist sports car industry and coachbuilt Ferraris, while also acting as biographer to racing driver/entrant Graham Warner. He has also owned, driven, and pushed countless Italian classic cars over the past 25 years.

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The remarkable history of A3/C 0222

Richard Heseltine

Iso Bizzarrini1ExceptionalseriesCars

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The life and times of the most successful Iso A3/C Grifo – chassis 0222Class winner and top-ten finisher at Le Mans 24 Hours 1965Designed and engineered by Giotto Bizzarrini, father of the GTOContains many first-hand accounts, including from surviving drivers

Iso BizzarriniRichard Heseltine

Exceptional Cars

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Richard Heseltine

The remarkable history of A3/C 0222

Exceptional CarsIso Bizzarrini

Richard Heseltine

The remarkable history of A3/C 0222

Exceptional CarsIso Bizzarrini

Porter Press International

©Richard Heseltine

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or

otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher

First published in August 2016

978-1-907085-54-3

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Edited by Ray HuttonDesign & Layout by Andrew Garman

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COPYRIGHTWe have made every effort to trace and acknowledge copyright holders and we apologise in advance for any unintentional omission. We would be pleased to insert the appropriate

acknowledgement in any subsequent edition.

Contents

What Bizzarrini Did Next 90

10 After 1965 92

Later life of 222 98

11 Restoration and revival 100

12 Photo gallery 108

Acknowledgements 126

Index 127

Introduction 7

The Car 8

1 Ingenere Bizzarrini 10

2 Design and development 20

3 Technical analysis 32

The Races 42

4 Out on track 1964 44

5 ‘222’ makes its debut 54

6 Le Mans 24 Hours 60

7 12 Hours of Reims 74

8 Course de Côte de Mont Dore 78

9 200 Miles of Zeltweg 82

7Iso Bizzarrini A3/C 0222

Introduction

I t was a victory that defied expectations. The 1965 Le Mans 24 Hours witnessed its fair share of drama and intrigue, yet somehow an underfunded entry helmed by two gentlemen drivers claimed a resounding class win. Régis Fraissinet and Baron Jean de Mortemart covered 2524 miles over 302 laps and averaged

105.2mph aboard the works Iso A3/C Grifo, chassis IA3*0222, to claim honours in the Over 5-litre Prototype category. In doing so, the Frenchmen recorded the biggest win of their careers and also that of the man who designed the car – mercurial genius, Giotto Bizzarrini.

It was a vintage year for the round-the-clock classic, 1965 witnessing what in many ways was the jumping off point for the famous Ford-Ferrari war. Obliged to compete in the same class as the GT40 Mk IIs, the lone Iso proved itself to be no slouch despite being a road-going GT car up against purpose-built sports-racers. Indeed, ‘222’ was the third fastest car through the speed traps at the end of the Mulsanne Straight, beaten only by two factory Fords. What’s more, its creator drove the car to France from his base in Italy before returning home in it following 24 hours of racing.

The car featured in this book not only accrued silverware in one of the biggest events in motor sport, but it was also fielded that same year at venues as diverse as the Nürburgring and Reims, Zeltweg and the Côte de Mont Dore hillclimb. It was driven by a roll-call of stars including Grand Prix legends Maurice Trintignant and Chris Amon, before enjoying a secondary career as an exotic road car. Rebranded as a Bizzarrini, it was subsequently owned by a colourful fixture of Rome high society before forming part of an internationally famous car collection. ‘222’ would later return to the scene of its greatest triumph, competing several times in the Le Mans Classic where it once again proved to be a front-runner. It is now in the keep of renowned car collector, Bruce Meyer, and is returned to period-correct splendour.

The story behind this remarkable car is an absorbing one. The narrative takes in high hopes and crushing disappointment, success on-track and political ructions away from it. As such, its life has rarely been dull. What follows is a full account of ‘222’ from its birth in 1965 to the present day, and one which we hope will lead to a wider appreciation of this Italo-American supercar - and the men who made it great.

‘222’ leads the Porsche 904 of Ben Pon/Robert Buchet at the start of the 33rd Grand Prix d´Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans. Note that some cars are still stationary following the traditional ‘Le Mans start’ with drivers sprinting to their cars. The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/Eric della Faille

Richard HeseltineShropshire, EnglandMay 2016.

9Bizzarrini A3/C 0222

Part 1The car

L ow, wide and brooding, attitude hunkered and flared of nostril, Bizzarrini chassis IA3*0222 is all business. There’s no room for styling addenda

here, just singularity of purpose as befits a Le Mans weapon. This car wasn’t designed by committee. In many ways it mirrors its creator, maverick engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, a man who, for a while, stood at the epicentre of the Italian motor sport and supercar arenas.

This is a complicated story, as the car started out as an Iso and was to race as such. After leaving Ferrari, where he had masterminded the classic 250GTO, Giotto Bizzarrini became part of the small team that developed the Iso Rivolta GT car. Iso’s next step was the Grifo two-seater, which was to exist in two very different forms – the A3/L, a luxurious road car, and the A3/C, Bizzarrini’s baby, which was born to race. ‘222’ is the finest expression of the A3/C.

These chapters delve in to the background to the Iso/Bizzarrini project, describe how the A3/C evolved and introduce key players in its design and development. Just 23 A3/Cs were built between 1963 and 1965 – never enough for the model to be homologated as a GT car – and the specifications varied. The car shown and described here is the ultimate race version: ‘222’.

The ultimate GT racer – Iso A3/C Grifo ‘222’ designed by Giotto Bizzarrini, who ran the racing team in 1964 and 1965. The car is shown here in England before it joined the Bruce Meyer Collection and received the final touches to restore it to Le Mans specification. Fiskens

10 Exceptional Cars

Ingegnere Bizzarrini

Chapter 1Ingegnere Bizzarrini

Willy Mairesse exits the ‘Il Mostro’ development mule at Monza in September 1961 to report to

Giotto Bizzarrini (on right). This car led to the 250GTO, a car that is nowadays lionised as

one of the greatest-ever competition Ferraris. Grand Prix Library

He is either a genius or an ungovernable rebel depending on whose opinion you canvas. Perhaps even both. Giotto Bizzarrini’s name is writ large in

motor sport and supercar lore and with good reason. It has been linked to some of the greatest road and racing cars ever to turn a wheel, even if his efforts haven’t always been attributed publicly. The Italian’s resumé is a long one, that’s for sure.

Born on 6 June 1926 in Quercianella, a small coastal town just south of Livorno, the young Tuscan initially eschewed the familial interest in science and engineering which had earned it moderate wealth. Instead, he dreamt of becoming a footballer. Bizzarrini was also a keen angler and hunter, skills that came in useful after Europe descended into hell during World War II. Young Giotto spent little time at home and, by his own admission, became somewhat feral. With little in the way of supervision after his father Giuseppe went off to fight, he developed a survivalist attitude. That, and a distaste for authority which variously propelled him forward and held him back in later years.

At the end of hostilities, Bizzarrini enrolled at the University of Pisa where he acquired an interest in aerodynamics. Aircraft were his first love, but he displayed an early aptitude for car design after reworking his 1949 Fiat 500C into a streamlined coupé. Distinct from most similar etceterini of the period, ‘La Machinetta’, as it was dubbed, also housed a modified engine, complete with a Siata cylinder head, which was moved further back in the chassis to improve weight distribution. It also featured his own design of rear suspension. This home-brewed creation formed part of his thesis, while the

budding entrepreneur also earned valuable lire tuning Fiats as a side-line to his studies.

Upon graduating in 1953, Bizzarrini became a teaching assistant at the university before joining weapons manufacturer Oto Melara, in La Spezia. He joined Alfa Romeo in the summer of 1954 and there he gained on-the-job training as a test driver, a role he took seriously and which would stand him in good stead in years to come. He was trained by men such as former Grand Prix driver Consalvo Sanesi who became something of a mentor.

In Winston Goodfellow’s book Bizzarrini: A technician devoted to motor racing, Bizzarrini stated: ‘I became a test driver who happened to be an engineer who used mathematical principles. For instance, if there is a crack in the wall, the mason comes in and patches it up. As an engineer, I would almost act like an architect, trying to figure out why the wall cracked. This is what I did during testing – anticipate or try to make the wall crack, pinpoint why it cracked, then offer the solution.’

Bizzarrini’s reputation as a trouble-shooter grew to the point that he was personally head-hunted by Ferrari in February 1957, following the death of one of its test drivers. The Tuscan rapidly took on greater responsibility (and job titles), with the likes of the 250 ‘Pontoon Fender’ Testa Rossa, 250GT SWB (Short Wheelbase) and 250GT California Spyder being tweaked and honed under his supervision.

But the Ferrari to which his name would become inextricably linked was the time-defying 250GTO. This glorious machine was created as a replacement for the SWB (Passo Corto in local parlance) which had dominated

Giotto Bizzarrini’s name is writ large in Italian motor sport and supercar lore. The Tuscan was not only a gifted engineer, but also a brilliant test driver. As such, he was headhunted by Ferrari while still in his twenties. LAT

11Iso Bizzarrini A3/C 0222

Ingegnere Bizzarrini

12 Exceptional Cars

Ingegnere Bizzarrini Ingegnere Bizzarrini

GT racing at the dawn of the Sixties. Legend has it that the GTO was created in response to the Jaguar E-type which made its début at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show. Ferrari’s commercial director, Gerolamo Gardini, feared that the E-type would beat the SWB on track and his thoughts were echoed by Enzo Ferrari. Bizzarrini was instructed to come up with a new GT racer, and quickly. What followed was the first car built in its entirety within the experimental department. What’s more, it was conceived and created in utter secrecy. Not even Ferrari’s favoured panel-beater Sergio Scaglietti, whose eponymous carrozzeria bodied the majority of the Scuderia Ferrari racing cars, was made aware of the scheme. Instead, Bizzarrini hand-picked a small team and set to.

But, for 1962, the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale, motor sport’s governing body) decreed

that the World Sports Car Championship would be replaced by a series for GT cars. In one of the most audacious acts of chicanery ever perpetuated in top-flight motor sport, Bizzarrini took a ‘lateral’ approach to rule interpretation and instead built an out-and-out competition tool – the GTO. Regulations stated that 100 cars needed to be constructed to meet homologation requirements. Ferrari made just 39 GTOs (the ‘O’ preposterously standing for Omologato) from December 1961 to May 1964, the Scuderia claiming that it was merely an evolution of the 250GT SWB of which the requisite number had already been built. Aided and abetted by race organisers wanting Ferraris on their starting grids, this ruse worked.

Although based on the 250GT SWB’s tubular steel chassis, the GTO was longer, lower, wider and significantly

The Ferrari 250GT SWB, developed in part by Bizzarrini, was both a superb road car and a mighty track weapon, as evinced by this view of the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1961. The Pierre Noblet/Jean Guichet entry (No 14, 2689 GT), a car that now resides in the Bruce Meyer Collection, leads away from the SWB Sperimentale (No 12, 2643 GT) and two other regular SWBs, those of Lucien Bianchi/Georges Berger (No 15, 2129 GT) and Bob Grossman/André Pilette (No 20, 2731 GT). The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/George Phillips