RM Auctions is selling a car that they call a 1965 Iso Grifo A3 C, chassis number B0232, at their auction in London in October 2011.
This same car was sold at the Gooding auction in Monterey in August 2009 and was listed by Gooding as a 1965 Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strada. I am not sure why RM has decided to change the brand of this car, so I asked them in an email sent on August 11 and I have not yet received a reply.
All of the pictures of the car here are my pictures from the preview at the Gooding auction in Monterey in August 2009.
The Iso Grifo A3/C is the predecessor to the Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strada and they are basically the same car with the A3/C designed for racing and the GT 5300 Strada designed to be a street car.
The name change occurred in 1965 when Giotto Bizzarrini and Renzo Rivolta, president of Iso, decided to part ways with Bizzarrini taking over the manufacture and selling of this car. Bizzarrini was required to stop using the Iso Grifo name, so he used his own brand.
The engine bay ID tag below clearly says Bizzarrini and all of the badges are Bizzarrini badges. The pictures on the RM Auctions web site show the same badges and ID tag as my photos.
This tag below does have an Iso logo. This car was made at the time when Bizzarrini and Iso were splitting up so it is possible that Bizzarrini used an Iso tag because he did not have his own yet.
However, I am not aware of any evidence proving that this car is an Iso Grifo A3/C rather than a Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strada. It has always been labeled a GT 5300 by previous owners and people who follow the Bizzarrini marque as far as I know.
RM has not published their complete description of this car yet, maybe they will answer this question when they do publish the complete description. I am curious.
Click on the images for a larger view.
Iso Grifo A3 Nose Badge
Bizzarrini GT 5300 Nose Badge
Subscribe to My Car Quest by email, go to the top of the page on the right side and enter your email address.
No comments:
Post a Comment