Our man pens supercar star!

FROM Auto Express to sporty excess! This open-topped supercar has been unveiled by ultra-exclusive Italian maker Bizzarrini – and it’s designed by someone who used to work for this magazine.

He’s talented stylist Stefan Schulze, who has created images for us in the past. Schulze is now involved in real-life car design, and this roofless two-seater goes by the grand name of Scuderia Bizzarrini Livorno P538 Barchetta. The company is planning a limited production run of both this car and a hard-top GT version. And the entire underbody, outer shell and passenger safety cell are made of carbon fibre, to keep weight as low as possible.

Power for the P538 comes from a 7.0-litre petrol engine bought from Chevrolet. It’s mid-mounted, and just visible behind the seatbacks are eight air intake trumpets allowing it to develop more than 500bhp at 6,200rpm. Note also the huge cooling vents ahead of the rear wheels. At the front, there are bonnet scoops to aid aerodynamic flow.

Bizzarrini was founded in the Sixties by Giotto Bizzarrini. He worked for Lamborghini, Alfa and Ferrari – where he helped develop the 250 GTO of 1962 – before striking out on his own.