Description: During the 1950s, Giotto Bizzarrini worked as chief engineer at Ferrari on such projects as the Ferrari 250 GTO. In 1961, he left Ferrari and by 1963, he had formed his own company, Bizzarrini. In the mid-1950s, Bizzarrini wanted to include a mid-engined racing car to his lineup to help achieve the success that his GT racers were unable to provide. The GT cars had been able to secure class wins, but Bizzarrini wanted an overall victory.
Design, development and testing of the P538 began in mid-1965 and it took six months for the first chassis to be constructed. The chassis was a traditional tubular construction with triangle shaped tubes. Disc brakes were placed in the front and rear. The suspension was comprised of double wishbones and the engine was a Chevrolet V8 engine mounted at a 90-degree angle. It had a 5.3-liter displacement size and could produce around 365 horsepower. A five-speed ZF manual gearbox was matted to the engine and drove the rear wheels. The body was lightweight, but strong, comprised of aluminum and fiberglass.
The name of the vehicle, P538, was derived from the Chevrolet Corvette engine '5.3-liter V8'.
The car, with V8 power, was ready by the time for 1966 LeMans 24 hours race, but there had not been any time to do proper testing. It took only seven laps for the team to find a problem with the car and it returned to the pits. There had been a vibration in the wheel. The vehicle was hoisted up on jacks and in the process, ruptured a water hose within one of the triangular tubes and sidelined the car from the race.
The car was brought back to LeMans a year later, though it was not allowed to race, for reasons unknown. The prototype racer was now obsolete.