The 40th anniversary of Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign studio was honoured at Villa d'Este with an appearance by the futuristic and unique Bizzarrini Manta concept the first project tackled four decades ago by his new studio.

The 40th anniversary of Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign studio was honoured at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este last weekend with an glamorous appearance by the futuristic Bizzarrini Manta concept, which uniquely blends show car looks with a Le Mans 24 Hours racing pedigree, and the first project to be tackled four decades ago by his new studio.

With its eye-catching lime-green colour and its unmistakable one-off wedge-shape, the Bizzarrini Manta was a big hit when it was displayed in public for the first time at the 1968 Turin Motor Show; and forty years on the perfectly restored and presented car was a real hit with visitors at the prestigious Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este where it grabbed attention like nothing else.

The Bizzarrini Manta was the first project to be undertaken by Giorgetto Giugiaro after he set up his new studio, ItalDesign. Former Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Lamborghini engineer Giotto Bizzarrini formed the eponymous marque in 1962, and four year later he built four mid-engined endurance race cars, called the P538, P for the 'Posteriore' engine positioning, and 538 for 5.3-litre V8. One of these (chassis no 538/003) raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1966, starting in 40th place but retiring with a coolant leak caused by jacking up the car incorrectly after just two hours. However motorsport rule changes soon rendered the large-engined sports-prototypes redundant.

Bizzarrini and Giugiaro, who had gone independent after stints at Bertone and Ghia, hatched a plan to build a unique and dazzling show car, and then sell it and split the profits. The Le Mans P538 was delivered to ItalDesign's workshops in Turin without its race bodywork and was reportedly re-clothed in just a month and a half. The wedge-shaped car with its unusual three-seat arrangement stunned the crowd at the 1968 Turin Motor Show. It was swiftly shipped to the United States where it shown, before it disappeared from sight on the return voyage. It wound up in a port authority auction a few years later and was bought by an Italian who then sold it to a Swedish buyer in the early 1980s and who remained to owner of the car right up until his death in the late 1990s. During his tenure it was repainted silver and formed a centrepiece at Giugiaro's 20th anniversary bash in 1988.

The Manta's current owner purchased the car three years ago and completed a mostly finished restoration project, which included returning it to the original lime-green colour. It was honoured at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2005 where it collected the trophy for best in class.

The Manta was shown at the 78th Geneva International Motor Show this spring where Giugiaro was celebrating the 40th anniversary of ItalDesign. To commemorate this landmark occasion Giugiaro presented a new 'clean technology' concept, the Quaranta, in Geneva which was influenced by the Manta. "The idea which inspired the Quaranta project is that of the first single-volume concept car with central engine and drive," said ItalDesign. "The original reference is to the 1968 Bizzarrini Manta which, at that time, represented a major breakthrough in styling, now adapted to state-of-the-art technology and enriched with ItalDesign Giugiaro's forty years experience of research." The Manta was presented on the stand as one of just a handful of significant designs to be drawn from Giugiaro's 40 years in the design business.