Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Bizzarrini For Sale And A Bizzarrini Sold

by Mike - 

This is a 1968 Bizzarrini GT America. The selling dealer, Classic Cars West, says: "This car was originally owned by Carey Loftin of Bullitt fame."



"This particular car chassis #286 has been used sparingly by its current owner since he took possession in 1987. There are also strong indications that this may have been the car used in the opening credits of Bullitt."




This may indeed be a Carey Loftin car and it is possible that it is the Bizzarrini that was parked in that garage in the opening scene of Bullitt. Perhaps Steve McQueen actually saw this car in person!

The green Bizzarrini GT 5300 below sold at RM Auctions at Villa d'Este on May 21 for €400,000 ($570,800).

After the auction fees are added I believe this is a world record price for a Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strada at public auction.



Click on the images for a larger view.



Above is the Bullitt scene - the Bizzarrini, to the right, is difficult to see but it is more clear when you watch the movie.

Subscribe to My Car Quest by email, go to the top of the page on the right side and enter your email address.

at 12:30 AM
Labels:

6 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 24, 2011 at 8:55 AM

    A couple of curiosities:
    There is rarely (if ever) any mention of the Bizzarini Europa. What was the backstory on that model?

    About 15 years ago Autoweek reported that Giotto Bizzarini was still living up in the mountains in Italy and occasionally building a car to order. What has happened to him since then?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike GulettMay 24, 2011 at 10:15 AM

    I plan to make the Europa the subject of a future story. It is a smaller car that the Strada with a fiberglass body and usually an Opal engine.

    The last that I have heard about Giotto is that he is retired. He made a small number of authentic P538 cars a few years ago, one of which was at Monterey last year. Read about it here:

    http://mycarquest.blogspot.com/2010/11/bizzarrini-p538.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 18, 2011 at 11:29 AM

    Mike do you know anything about 1A*0297 Bizzarrini? owners were Tim Ritter Jim Mathis and Tom Mittler

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mike GulettJuly 18, 2011 at 2:30 PM

    I do not know this car personally. Here is what Chris Lackner says in his Bizzarrini chassis number listing about IA3 0297:

    0297 IA3 - - ZA336PN B Orange*/Black Federico Bonomeli (01) Italy 2007
    Strada. 4-vane wing vents, late handles, manual windows. Ex Charles Sens (Ocean City, MD). Oliver Kuttner (Charlottsville, VA). Hugh James (W.Sussex, UK) 88-00. Raced in USA? Restored STC Motors (Seaford, E.Sussex) 98-99. *Now Red. Sold after Brooks auction at Nürburgring Oldtimer GP,06.08.00 for £65K to Luciano Colosio (Bergamo, IT). Classic Cars 12.00.



    The names Tim Ritter, Jim Mathis and Tom Mittler are not mentioned.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJuly 18, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    thanks for the info. I see on www.classicscars.com on their chassis list that there are several duplicate number chassis. could this be on also? Any help on pointing me to someone who might know?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mike GulettJuly 18, 2011 at 3:51 PM

    There are duplicate chassis numbers, one must be very careful.

    See my other articles on this subject at the links below:

    http://mycarquest.blogspot.com/2011/02/is-this-real-bizzarrini.html

    http://mycarquest.blogspot.com/2011/03/is-this-real-bizzarrini-part-2.html

    http://mycarquest.blogspot.com/2011/04/bizzarrini-gt-5300s-for-sale.html

    Send me an email at: michael.gulett@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)