While continuation cars are cool, most seem to be as rare and babied as the originals. Fortunately, that’s not always the case, as this Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa Revival has been given a thorough thrashing around the Top Gear test track by none other than The Stig.
Limited to just 24 examples, Bizzarrini only completed the first example of its continuation race car in August of this year. Inspired by the 5300 GT Corsa chassis number 0222, which won its class at Le Mans in 1965, all 24 examples were sold in the same shade of Rosso Corse Bizzarrini 222.
As close as possible to the original car, the Revival does have a few updates to make it comply with historic racing regulations, including a safer fuel cell, a six-point roll cage, and more. Otherwise, though, it is just like driving the car that Regis Fraissinet and Jean de Mortemar drove to victory in 1965.
More: Bizzarrini Completes First Of 24 Continuation 5300 GT Corsa Revivals
Under the hood, it’s powered by a 5,300 cc V8 engine with 45 DCOE carburetors, that allow it to make a mightily impressive 400 hp (298 kW/406 PS). It tips the scales at just 2,711 lbs (1,230 kg), though, which gives it a similar power-to-weight ratio to modern supercars, per Bizzarrini.
Despite the impressive performance, the car still uses nearly 60-year-old technology, so there was no risk of it topping the timing board. With a time of 1:28.3, it was only 0.3 seconds slower than a Ford Mustang GT that did the lap in 2016, which is quite impressive, all things considered.
Watching the car race around the lap, though, it’s easy to see why someone would want to pay £1.65 million ($1.95 million USD at current exchange rates) to hear that raw V8 soundtrack, to feel that thin wheel between their fingers, and to be able to drive around in something as gorgeous as this Bizzarrini.