Bizzarrini 5300 Aperta Lusso Revives 60-Year-Old Giugiaro Design

The Bizzarrini 5300 Aperta Lusso is not a car for the casual observer. It is a 60-year-old design by Giorgetto Giugiaro, finally realized after lingering in sketches. Originally conceived in 1962 as an open-top version of Bizzarrini’s 5300 GT, the idea never advanced beyond the drawing board. At the time, Giotto Bizzarrini, the company’s founder, prioritized racing over production. Now, the design is reborn as a limited-run model, blending Giugiaro’s vision with modern engineering.

Old Meets New in Construction

The Aperta Lusso is not a retrofitted classic. It uses a semi-monocoque bonded chassis and a single-piece carbon-fiber composite body. This approach preserves Giugiaro’s original lines while replacing traditional materials with advanced composites. The interior mimics 1960s aesthetics: a wood-rimmed steering wheel, a single-piece wooden dashboard, and a tortoiseshell shift knob. Yet hidden beneath the vintage look are modern comforts. Air conditioning, an adjustable steering column, and MagSafe wireless charging for iPhones are present but discreetly integrated.

Even the seals and weather stripping are modern, ensuring better noise and water resistance than typical Italian classics. This balance of old and new avoids the trap of treating the car as a cash grab. Instead, Bizzarrini honors Giugiaro’s design while addressing practical concerns.

Old-School and New-School in All the Right Ways

Peer through its targa-style open roof and you’ll see what looks like a classic car interior. The thin wood-rimmed steering wheel, massive dashboard panel made from a single piece of wood, and Italian tortoiseshell shift knob all look plucked right out of the ‘60s. But it has air conditioning, an adjustable steering column, and even freaking MagSafe wireless charging for current iPhones. So it has all of the look and feel of a classic car, with none of the drawbacks. Thankfully, Bizzarrini disguised most of the modern tech, calling it “hidden convenience.”

It even has modern window seals and weather stripping, so it should be quieter and less leaky in the rain than typical Italian classics. Those little things prove that Bizzarrini didn’t treat this like an easy cash grab for exclusive-starved rich folk, but actually showed Giugiaro’s design the reverence it deserves.

Vintage Sound with Modern Safety

Under that seemingly endless hood is a 5.3-liter V8 that sits entirely behind the front axle, giving it a front-mid-engine layout and a gorgeous dash-to-axle ratio. The engine looks old-school, mimicking the look of Weber carburetors, but it uses port-injection that helps it make 400 horsepower instead of the original 5300 GT’s 365 horses. With an Inconel valved exhaust and a catalytic converter, it should sound good without smelling like a typical classic V8, too.

There’s no word on exactly what engine it is, but the original had a Chevy 327 as Giotto wanted something reliable and easy to fix instead of a high-strung Italian V12, and Bizzarrini says the Aperta’s engine is “the same proven small block unit Giotto Bizzarrini selected in the 1960s.” There’s a limited-slip differential at the rear, and Bizzarrini will even put in a six-speed manual for customers who are more interested in high-speed cruising. Final drive gear ratios can be adjusted for each customer’s needs.

Unfortunately, only 10 will be made. Its brakes are an interesting blend of old and new tech, too. Four-piston front calipers and two-piston rears clamp onto ventilated discs, and the rear discs are inboard like a race car’s, but there’s no servo-assistance, so it should have modern stopping power with an old-school feel. The suspension features double wishbones all around and Koni “red” adjustable dampers, with unique valving specifically for the Aperta. It also rides on magnesium Campagnolo center lock wheels, wrapped in 205/50 Pirellis up front and 255/60s at the rear.

Unsurprisingly, only a very small number of very deep-pocketed customers will get their hands on one of these. Bizzarrini is only making 10, all of which will be individually commissioned and hand-built. No price is mentioned, but let’s be real, no one who can afford it is even going to care. However, this is infinitely more interesting than the vast majority of exclusive, low-volume supercars and luxury cars typically seen at concourse events. It faithfully brings a 64-year-old Giugiaro design back to life with modern technology, comfort, and safety. That’s a hard line to walk but Bizzarrini seems to have nailed it. Maybe it can do the same with some of its weirder old cars in the future.