Bizzarrini races back in hands of ex-Aston Martin execs

LONDON — Italian sports car brand Bizzarrini, the 1960s brainchild of a former Ferrari engineer, is being resurrected by a group that includes Aston Martin's former CEO and the British automaker's onetime majority shareholder.

The new company will be chaired by Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin's CEO from 2000 to 2013.

Rezam Alroumi, a Kuwaiti national who led Adeem Investments, which provided the bulk of financing for the buyout of Aston Martin from Ford Motor Co. in 2007, is providing major funding.

Former Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini built sports cars under his name from 1964 to 1969. The company is best known for the 5300 GT Strada coupe, based on an Iso Grifo A3C race car. Giotto Bizzarrini is still alive but is not connected to the revival.

The revived brand will create cars for collectors, said Janette Green, Aston Martin's former communications boss and Bizzarrini's chief marketing officer. She said the brand will focus on very low volumes and hinted at possible continuation models of the brand's original cars.

"Whatever we do, we will do it properly and slowly and with full respect to the Bizzarrini heritage," Green told Automotive News Europe, adding that the company will show a prototype of its first car next year.

The cars are likely to be powered by an internal combustion engine and cost more than £1 million ($1.33 million), Green said.

The brand will be part of Alroumi's Pegasus Group, which owns luxury-vehicle dealerships in London, Geneva and the Middle East. The group also owns a 50 percent share in Aston Martin Works, which builds heritage models and continuation cars at Aston Martin's former factory in central England.

Christopher Sheppard, Aston Martin Works board member and former CEO of Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa, was named CEO of Bizzarrini.