Glen Smale
The Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada showing its sleek and low lines. © Glen Smale
Bizzarrini

Bizzarrini – The Dark Horse

An underachiever in its day, the Bizzarrini has, through an active historic racing scene, finally come of age

Avatar photoGlen Smale

The Bizzarrini burst onto the scene in the 1960s at a time when the motor industry was awash with exotic, interesting and exciting new names. It was a time when design houses dipped their toes into the turbulent but enticing waters of motorsport with creations that were not only fast and powerful but also beautiful to look at. Ferrari boasted such iconic racers as the 250 GT SWB and the 250 GTO, Jaguar offered the Lightweight E-type, Shelby shook the world with the Cobra Daytona, and many others besides.

Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada (1965) Glen Smale
The Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada had an almost horizontal rear windscreen. © Glen Smale

Before delving deeper into the specifics of our feature car, it is worth knowing some background on its creator, Giotto Bizzarrini. Engineer and test driver, Giotto Bizzarrini, could have written the words to the song, I Did It My Way, made famous by the evergreen Frank Sinatra. Never one to be beaten by a problem, Bizzarrini blazed his own trail in finding solutions to engineering challenges. After three years at Alfa Romeo, Bizzarrini attracted the attention of none other than Enzo Ferrari himself, and in 1957, he found himself working within the hallowed gates of Ferrari. Here, he worked his way up the ladder to head up Experimental Sports and GT car development.

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Glen Smale
South African-born Smale started his professional motor journalism and photography career back in 1994, but if truth be told, Glen has had a driving passion for all things motoring since a tender age. In 1997, Glen launched Autosport & Classics, a classic motoring and historic motorsport magazine covering the local scene in SA. Two years later, having sold his share in the magazine. Between 2004 and 2016 Smale has authored thirteen books covering sports cars and motor racing. In 2007 he received the Laurin and Klement ‘Design Writer of the Year’ award for his book Jaguar E-type: Portrait of a Design Icon. In 2012 his book, Porsche at Le Mans: 60 Years of Porsche Participation in the World’s Greatest Motor Race, was shortlisted in the British Sports Book Awards. Of his thirteen books, no less than seven have been on Porsche cars, perhaps suggesting where his passion lies. Glen first started writing for the only magazine dedicated entirely to the Porsche 911, namely Total 911, as far back as 2005 and still contributes to this magazine on a regular basis. He has also written for the well-known Porsche magazines in America, Excellence, for a number of years. In addition to this, Glen has contributed to the Porsche Club of North America monthly publication, Panorama, as well as a host of other titles over the years in Europe, the UK and South Africa. Away from the race track, Glen was an aspiring golfer in his younger days and represented his province in the under-18 age group for a number of years. He went on to win his University Championships and represented Rhodes University for five years, as well as playing club league golf for ten years. With both children now out of the house and working, Glen lives with his lovely German wife, Elke, in the beautiful county of Carmarthenshire in West Wales. Glen has been a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers since 1995.
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