Iso Grifo

In October 1963 Bertone showed the new Iso Grifo A3/L on his stand and Iso had the race version, the Grifo A3/C, on theirs. The A3/L was built by Bertone and Iso as a showstopper. It was a very beautiful car but changes had to be made before it could be sold to the public. The basic lines of the car did not change but the final result was less aggressive and much more elegant. The font of the car was changed to keep the car from getting airborne at higher speeds. The exhaust was routed underneath the car and was no longer visible through the front side louvres.

On the two pictures below you can see the production Grifo GL and the "one off" A3/L Spider designed and made by Bertone in march 1964. The GL was introduced in January of 1965 and after months of testing put into production in august of 1965. When tested by the automotive press it was unanimously judged as one of the world's best cars. It was without a doubt the world's most sensible GT.

Grifo Targa & Sunroof versions

The Grifo Spider was a very beautiful car but production was never considered by Iso because of mechanical and structural problems. There was a demand for an open version of the Grifo and together with Pavesi of Milano Iso developed a large sunroof which you could take out in two pieces and store in the trunk. This option was available from may 1966.

Designed by Gandini (Bertone) Iso presented the Grifo Targa in October 1966. This time you could remove the whole midsection of the roof. The first car, #97, was shown at the 1966 Torino Motorshow. It was painted in bright orange with stainless steel roof panels. A strange option on the Targa was a plastic foldable rear window.

Iso also built a Grifo with a slide-back sunroof but this version remained an "one off" like the Spider.

The Grifo 7 Litri

After crashing his raceboat Piero Rivolta decided to use the engine, a 427-L71, for a spectacular version of the Grifo. This seven liter unit was much larger and heavier and many changes had to be made to the car to fit it in. The engine produced 435 hp at 5800 rpm and the factory claimed it could reach a topspeed of 300 km/h. The yellow car is the first 7 litri built and the only one with the larger headlights.

Iso asked one of their regular Italian customers if he would be interested in this special Grifo. He had to accept the fact that the car was to be sold without warranty. It was an experiment and the car was nothing more than a prototype. He agreed but asked for some changes to the exterior to make it unique. They fitted larger headlights, "7 litri" badges on the now black roll bar and rear and a large air intake on the hood.

To boost sales Iso asked Gandini to make some changes to the front of the Grifo. Other sportscars like the Maserati Ghibli and Ferrari Daytona had much sleeker front ends and the short nose of the Grifo was styling from the sixties. The new Grifo was a success and with minor changes to the front Iso created a whole new look. Even today the car looks modern. The first Grifo was a classic, the second Grifo is timeless.

In 1972 Iso changed to Ford engines. Chevrolet had become an unreliable partner, the relationship with Ford Italia was very good and their engines almost as powerful as those of the Corvette. The Grifo IR 8.

The Ford-engined versions of the Grifo used a taller air intake on the hood than those of the 7 liter (Can Am) versions. Produced until 1974.

The Grifo Can Am

The second generation Grifo's with a 7 liter engine were called the IR-9 Can Am. Most of these cars had a Corvette 454 390 hp engine installed. It was not as fast as the 7-litri. In 1972 production stopped because Iso changed to Ford engines for all their models.

The Interior of the Grifo didn't change much during its years of production. There was no need to change because it was one of the best finished and most beautiful on the market.

On the left: Iso advertised in the Dutch newspaper "De Telegraaf". Iso S.p.A. was looking for an "importer" and dealers for Holland.

La ISO RIVOLTA realizza da anni le autovetture che tutti noi sogniamo: GRIFO, LELE, FIDIA. La autovetture sicure, veloci, sportive ed eleganti che sono sinonimo d'élite. Con la construzione del nuovo stabilimento di Varedo, la ISO RIVOLTA, ha affiancato alla produzione delle autovetture quella dei "FLYING" per la neve e degli "OFF SHORE" per il mare.

Per una guida confortevole e, nello stesso tempo, veloce e sportiva sulle strade, sulle nevi, sui mari la ISO RIVOLTA offre i mezzi che maggiormente si sono affermati sul mercato mondiale.

Iso Grifo IR 8

PRESTAZIONI: motore 351 - C, 8V - Velocita max. km/h 250 - Km. da fermo sec. 26 - Consumo Lt/100 Km 18

DIMENSIONI E PESI: passo m 2,50 - Carreggiata (ant. post.) m. 1,44 - Lunghezza max. m. 4,60 - Larghezza max. m. 1,77 - Althezza max. m. 1,20 - Althezza min. da terra m. 0,12 - Diametro di volta m. 12 - Peso a vouto Kg. 1590 - Peso max. Kg. 1770 - Serbatoio carburante lt. 100 - Carrozzeria: disegno Bertone