1963 Iso Rivolta GT

Iso Rivolta was an automobile and motorbike manufacturer in Italy, predominantly active from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. They are known for the iconic Isetta 'bubble car' of the 1950s, and for a number of powerful performance cars in the 60s and early 70s. Iso Rivolta was initially named Isothermos and manufactured refrigeration units before World War II. The company was originally founded in Genoa in 1939, but was transferred to Bresso in 1942 by Renzo Rivolta, an engineer and the heir of industrialists. The business was re founded as Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A. in 1953 to reflect the production of motorized transport.

Since 1938, the Rivolta name has been synonymous with design excellence and beautiful styling, from the late 1940s and 1950s when Renzo Rivolta introduced stylish motor scooters and energy-efficient automobiles to post-war Italy, through to the production of the stunning sports cars of the 1960s and 1970s. In short, the Rivolta story blended American reliability with Italian design and international elegance. One can imagine Renzo Rivolta becoming tired of looking at fridges all day, returning to his office, staring out the window and dreaming of building the most beautiful cars in the world, and the Rivolta, Grifo, Fidia and Lele are the tangible results of this great man's dreams. The IR300 (Rivolta), built between 1962 and 1970, was Iso's first venture into the GT market and the cars were very impressive. A young Giorgetto Giugiaro created the bodywork and former Ferrari engineer, Giotti Bizzarrini, designed the chassis. It was a recipe that worked well and not dissimilar to the Gordon Keeble concept that was being developed in the UK at the time.

The elegant Bertone-built steel body clothed a similar box-section frame with De Dion and Watts linkage rear suspension and double wishbones at the front. The Rivolta had an American V8, essentially a 5.4ltr Corvette engine, under the bonnet, giving it an impressive turn of speed. In fact, it was easily capable of more than 140mph and 0-60 in just over 8 seconds, outstanding for a well equipped 4-seater in the mid sixties. Subsequently the engine was developed further resulting in the IR340 and IR350 with 340 and 350bhp respectively.

The Rivolta was good looking with its 'shark nose' and airy cabin, powerful, reliable, and every inch the stylish, long-legged, Italian GT. Being a little different and less than two-thirds of the cost of an entry-level Ferrari at the time, meant that it was also a commercial success with 797 ultimately finding homes under the Mediterranean Sun.

This particular Iso Rivolta was started as a restoration project some ten years ago by the current vendor but as so often happens, he got no further than stripping the car down and it has resided in his storage unit in that condition ever since. The body looks to be in fundamentally good condition other than some superficial surface rust where it has been stored with stripped paintwork. There appears to be no deep rot at all and a skilled craftsman, comfortable with the art of lead loading, will be able to restore those complex folds back to their original shape. The sills, A-frames, lower doors, wheel arches etc all seem solid, as is the chassis. The Chevrolet V8 was running when removed and all parts are present and in reasonable condition. It sits on good 'Grifo' alloys rather than the original polished Borranis but these were an optional 'retro-fit' on later cars.

These cars are sophisticated and elegant GTs and are now quite rare, a fact that has been reflected in the market recently. This car is eminently restorable, however, it is a major project and, in our opinion, needs to be a full 'nut and bolt' exercise and not a "Morris Minor at the weekend" refurb.It benefits from having a comparitively cheap engine but inevitably some parts will prove expensive and perhaps elusive, however it's fairly safe to assume that anyone contemplating restoring this magnificent motor car will have done their sums. We would like to re-iterate that this car is being offered at No Reserve.