A beautiful Europa by Bizzarrini

Elegant ONES Of course you still remember the discussion about exotic cars built by an Italian automotive manufacturer based in Livorno named Bizzarrini SpA. some time ago. And the peak of this company's glory occurred in the 1960s when the company owned by Giotto Bizzarrini successfully launched a sports car production called the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada.

This is Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa aka a 'baby' version of 5300 GT is built in between 1966 to 1969 and powered by a 1,897 cc Opel engine. (Picture from: RMW)

The exotic car, which was originally powered by Lamborghini's V12 engine, but was later replaced with a 327 CID V8 engine from the Corvette, in which its performance managed to amaze the public at that time.

As quoted of the Riga Master Workshop pages, soon the company also succeeded in making a smaller version of the 5300 GT under commissioned by GM-Opel. As is known, this car was built on the Opel 1900 platform which was originally projected as the Opel GT, or later known as the mini Corvette of German.

The Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa aka a 'baby' version of 5300 GT is built on the Opel 1900 platform which was originally projected as the Opel GT. (Picture from: Pinterest)

Actually, the Bizzarrini's design proposal was more aggressive and good looking as the 5300 GT in a baby vesion. But then the Opel GT production version is designed by factory stylists and looked less aggressive but still beautiful. Because his design proposal was not used, Bizzarrini decided to realize the mentioned car's design by himself.

This small grand tourer built by Bizzarrini SpA. in between 1966 to 1969 officially named the Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa, and was mostly built in coupe and only one in barchetta styles. In general, the Europa features a fiberglass body, penned by Bizzarrini designer named Pietro Vanni, and is equipped with independent front and rear suspensions, limited slip differential and disc brakes on all four wheels. During its production period, it is not known how many the 1900 GT Europa models were made, because the Italian manufacturer has no record of that.

The Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa aka a 'baby' version of 5300 GT has a simple dashboard arrangement. (Picture from: RMW)

According to some sources about 17 units were managed to bulid by the Italian company (while others say only 12 units). Even some of the cars, some sources say about 20 units were assembled outside of that period (in the late 1960s and early 1970s) by using Europa spare parts and unused chassis from the Bizzarrini's plant after it went bankrupt. And obviously all of those cars were not assembled by Bizzarrini itself.

The Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa aka a 'baby' version of 5300 GT is powered by the Opel 1,899 cc engine mounted behind the front axle and is claimed to be capable of producing around 110 hp of power. (Picture from: RMW)

And about the drivetrain, when it went into production, this Italian company installed a 1,481 cc inline-4 Fiat engine, but then when it was officially announced as the Europa, the car was introduced using a 1,897 cc Opel engine. And of the 17 units, there're 12 of them use engines from Opel while the remaining 5 are powered by four-cylinder 1300 and 1600 engines sourced from GM, Alfa Romeo and Fiat. There is even a very advanced racing version with the SPICA fuel injection system.

On the most of Europa models, the Opel 1,899 cc engine is mounted behind the front axle and is claimed to be capable of producing around 110 hp of power, and allowing the car to reach a claimed top speed of 206 kph.

The Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa aka a 'baby' version of 5300 GT is claimed capable to run fast up to the top speed of 206 kph. (Picture from: RMW)

The Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa became the star of the company's booth when it was shown for the first time at the Salone dell'Automobile 1966 event in Turin and one of the most notable prototypes in the whole exhibition, holding its own in the popularity contest with more well-known cars like the Ferrari Dino 206, Maserati Ghibli, and De Tomaso Mangusta.

Unfortunately, the "baby" GT by Giotto Bizzarrini aka Europa was originally meant to be a smaller, lower-cost alternative to the more expensive Strada model that would bring the Bizzarrini into volume production and compete with other sports cars from Alfa Romeo and Lancia. However, due to the bankruptcy of Bizzarrini in 1969, and made the Europa's production had to stop after only a handful of cars were made. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DIOMANTE | WIKIPEDIA | SUPERCARS.NET | RMW.LV | PETROLICIOUS ]

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