Iso Rivolta: The Coolest Cars You've Never Heard Of

Several boutique European manufacturers have exploited the "American muscle in a coachbuilt body" formula over time, with varying degrees of success. But if there's been a company that, perhaps above all others, truly mastered the art of blending new-world horsepower with old-world sophistication, that's Iso Rivolta. Active between 1962 and 1974, Iso's luxurious GTs powered by American V8s were stylish and fast, but never sold in quantities high enough to sustain the firm's continued existence.
#classiccars #history #mauto
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Lancia Gamma Berlina & Coupé 1976 - 1984
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Six Appeal - The Story Of The Alfa 6
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Alfa Romeo Giulietta - The Story 1977 - 1985
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Alfa Romeo Arna - The Full Story 1980 - 1987 www.amazon.com/dp/1656632500

[@Tourist1967]

Lamborghini went from tractors to supercars. The owners of Iso Rivolta started off making vacuum cleaners. There's a moral there. No matter how hard Italians try to be practical, they end up making works of art. God bless them.

[@MrBenzcdi]

Peugeot started out making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then bicycles. It seems that industrialists got bored with the mundane and pedestrian nature of designing & manufacturing of appliances.

[@paulmeester5401]

​@@MrBenzcdi peugeot peppermills the mercedes amongst the peppermills😊

[@Tourist1967]

@@paulmeester5401 Bought a friend who's silly enough to play golf some MB golf balls once. Told him they went from 0-60 in 4.2 seconds, but their top speed was limited to 155mph.

[@janosdr.dzvonyar3377]

​@@Tourist1967 I've seen one of them, in 1974., parking near the seaside, in Split, part of the former Yugoslavia. She was in burgundi colours, tachometer was scaled till 300 km/h-s!!!

[@danieljames2015]

What James Bond would have driven if he had been Italian. In my opinion, in the top 10 most beautiful Cars of all time.

[@Steve-gc5nt]

Imagine how much more cool an Italian 007 would have been!

[@jeffking4176]

The Grifo is , to me, one of the most beautiful cars of the second half of the century ❗️ As a kid, I saw, and fell in love with it. At 62, I’m still in love with it. 🚗😁❗️

[@Matteo_Licata]

Hard not to agree, it truly is magnificent!

[@dipling.pitzler7650]

ISO GRIFO! The most memorable car name of all time, and I still remember the moment discovering this name embossed on the underside of my favorite blue Matchbox model! Grifo= Griffon, a most fitting name, elusive and rarely seen just like the mythological creature ! It looks like the designer purposefully molded the rear for the Alfa Romeo taillights to get a snug fit. The low slung stance and resemblance to the even more elusive Bezzarrini Strada sports car is remarkable!

[@studiocalder818]

Great comment 😊

[@simonhodgetts6530]

I had that model - and it was always one of my favourites!

[@AlbertManiscalco]

it is indeed a great name...and appropriate. prettiest muscle car ever. also i relate to these cars as an italo-american lol

[@marcbrasse747]

Yep, I’ve known of it from my earliest youth….. because Matchbox made a very nice model of it! A great example of diecast moulding which did it much justice. 😀

[@briankay4713]

Matteo that Iso Grifo is stunningly beautiful....and the colour too ....just wow ❤❤

[@bernarrcoletta7419]

I always loved the Grifo. I even had a Matchbox of it. I never realized it was from the mid-Sixties. It looks more like a car from the early-Seventies. Che Bella!

[@alastairwatson3201]

My brother in law has a friend in the UK who owns a 300. He has arranged for me to go for a drive in it when I visit in July, which might just be the greatest automotive thrill of my 59 year life!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Wow, that sure will be a lot of fun! Very cool

[@mescko]

Are you back yet? I'd like to hear your impressions.

[@mikebaginy8731]

Oh yes, I do remember the Iso Grifo! In the early 70s I lived in Stuttgart, Germany where there were a number of Italian auto dealers. I recall many Ferraris, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, Alfa Romeos and also a Monteverdi High Speed 375 (which was absolutely beautiful!!). I enjoyed driving my Fiat 124 Sport Coupé which I wish I still had. Those were the days when cars had their individual styling - today most look very similar; only a few are immediately identifiable.

[@studiocalder818]

A golden era... Enjoy your Tom Tijarda's masterpiece. I'm Alfista, I have an A.R.Spider 105 but I admit that the 124 Spider is even more fascinating

[@martian9999]

one of the best-ever Fiats!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Cool! By the way, I'm going to film two nice 124 Spiders sometime this Spring... Which will allow me to finally make a nice, long video about the model's history :)

[@jami7772]

Iso Fidia looks so elegant. I think John Lennon had one. Informative video thanks Matteo.

[@ronduccio]

Thanks for you video, really glad you liked our exibition. It's meant (on in Turin until Sept 24th 2023) to show what a tiny company and its passionate owner and employees, back in the 60s, could build starting from a white sheet paper.

[@upwaveflash8429]

It's extremely rare for me to get melted just by seeing a car But The design of the truly outstanding Iso Grifo just instantly melted my heart The more i looked at it the more i love it Just straight up beautifully crafted car

[@Matteo_Licata]

I can relate :) It is mesmerizing to observe in the metal, and the museum's lights really set it off

[@hagerty1952]

Interesting that you didn't mention where the "Iso" came from, since it wasn't Rivolta's first name. The product that really launched the company's success was a refrigerator called the "Iso Therm" (latin for "same temperature"). Rivolta considered it a lucky omen, so he put "Iso" at the start of every product after that.

[@studiocalder818]

Wasn't it Isothermos?

[@BanjoLuke1]

I believe the derivation is Greek.

[@hagerty1952]

@@BanjoLuke1 - Ach! You are absolutely correct!

[@brunotulliani]

Very interesting fact. Thanks

[@marcusott2973]

Not only have I heard of it, I've even driven one. And the 2nd rarest at that, a big block non face-lift Grifo. What a machine, beautiful if simple interior and just beautiful outside.

[@martian9999]

how did it drive?

[@marcusott2973]

@Martin Schwoerer the servo pump had packed in immediately before I got to drive, so low-speed driving was a bit 😬. But as soon as it got up to speed, it was quite pleasant, very much like an early 70's corvette, just with better brakes and gear change. Mannheim to München was a pleasant drive, 200kp/h on the Autobahn was easily obtained, low wind noise for its age.

[@martian9999]

@@marcusott2973 fascinating!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Wow, now that's amazing! A 7-liter non-facelift Grifo may well be my favorite Iso Rivolta of all.

[@marcusott2973]

@Roadster Life The car I drove 10 years ago was sold at AutoClassic in Essen in think 3 years ago. It's an original German car supplied by Auto Becker, where it got its 1st engine swapped under warranty. Overheated and blew on the Autobahn? With the small block offering so much potential power with only mild tuning, I don't quite understand why they persevered with the problematic big block? My favourite to own would probably be a small block pre face lift.

[@gkstanfield]

I see an ISO Grifo occasionally at Road America motor circuit in Wisconsin during the Vintage Events…and of course in my Matchbox collection…they are lovely and exciting cars!

[@FlyingScud]

As Jay Leno said - 'The original hybrid. American power and Italian style'. Like a Jensen.... What a gorgeous museum. I certainly have heard of ISO!

[@Matteo_Licata]

It was a mesmerizing exhibition indeed!

[@arthuralford]

The Grifo in that green is just classic. Americans looked at Chevy as the car anyone could own; having their expensive sports car powered by an engine from a Corvette meant they lost bragging rights to the guy with a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. Even if the Grifo could blow their doors off

[@BanjoLuke1]

An excellent video. As so often with such things, many UK children born in the 60s will have had a Matchbox Iso Grifo. Mine was pale blue, as I recall. The Isetta bubble car was rare in the UK, but a neighbour early in my childhood ran a Trojan, which I believe was based on the Heinkel.... which may itself have been based on part on the Isetta/BMW. I recall reading that although the A3/C was a masterpiece, it was not easy to work on. I am told the engine had to be dropped at the rear to extract the rearmost plug of each bank. In a more modest way, if I wanted to check the valve clearance, I had to drop the front of the engine of my Morini 3 1/2 Sport after I'd put a (taller) 501cc "Big Valve" motor in it. A small price.... although I imagine a plug change for a Bizzarini A3/C had a BIG price.... Another excellent video about a strange and very Italian carmaker. The Italian Jensen.... Or was Jensen the British Iso?

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you for your interesting comment. Yes, the engine on the A3/C and later Bizzarrini 5300 is so far back in the car that you can't access half of it from the actual engine bay. I know the 5300 has a service panel on the dashtop because of that, though.

[@TheInstructor66]

Great video again, Matteo.👍🏻 Giugiaro reused the Carello taillight from the Alfa Bertone coupe on the Grifo. Beautyfully incorporated in both cars.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Indeed. You just can't beat Giugiaro's touch... Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@rponiarski]

I recall when I was first married over 30 years ago and we were buying my wife her first Subaru station wagon. The owner had a car in the back and asked if I knew what it was. It was an Iso Rivolta and I told him so. He was so astonished as I was the first person to get the right answer! They were beautiful if flawed cars. Would be nice if they made a come back, like Isotta Fraschini is planning...

[@Matteo_Licata]

There have already been at least a couple of attempts at reviving Iso Rivolta... But I think it's unlikely it'll ever really happen. There are much quicker and more effective ways to make money than building cars, that's for sure!

[@Falcone-en4wl]

When exquisite design met engineering excellence. The Lele clearly reminds me another Gandini's masterpiece, the Lamborghini Jarama.

[@AlbertManiscalco]

a restomodded grifo with wheels that fill the arches out and a modern engine and 6 speed would be amazing as a daily. the prettiest muscle car ever...

[@joeymacme]

Matteo, myself and my partner visited the MAUTO in Turin today, and we were blown away by the amazing collection. We primarily visited Turin because of your earlier videos, especially the one where you covered the Golden Age of Rally. I love 70's & 80's rally cars, and we walked that particular exhibition 3 times! Also, relating to the Iso Rivolta, those cars were beautiful in-person. What a nice surprise seeing and learning about a brand I had not heard of before. We will visit the Heritage Hub tomorrow also, so we are in for another treat. I want to say thank you for your excellent, informative and humorous productions. I look forward to many more of your videos.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Wow, thank you very much! What a coincidence, by the way: I was at the MAUTO today too :) I'm sure you'll love the Heritage Hub, it's just mindblowing how many cars they have there!

[@joeymacme]

​@@Matteo_Licata Now that's a coincidence. The MAUTO is a really nice museum, and I like the architecture too... but I'm sure it's not too everybody's taste. We'll also try get time to get up onto the Lingotto building before we leave Turin. It's a great city by the way. I'll definitely be back. All the best wishes to you, and thanks again.

[@AaronSpielman]

Fantastic video! I've always loved Iso GT cars, especially the Lele (given that two other of my favorite Italian cars are the Espada and the Montreal, this is no surprise) and the Grifo.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@simonelliott5956]

Stunningly beautiful cars, all of them. There is an early GT doing the shows in the UK with its original patina of age and completely unrestored other than mechanically. Still looks beautiful though.

[@nlpnt]

Another reason why the Grifo might have had disappointing sales is just how beautiful - if very different - the 1968-up Mako Shark-inspired Corvette was. The difference in style may have been between bespoke Italian tailoring and Sears' Best, but so was the difference in price.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

The Iso Grifo is a work of art! Peak Giugiaro!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Indeed!

[@anthonypetty9288]

The Iso Rivolta Grifo is one of the most beautiful cars ever produced.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Having seen that green example in person, I have to agree. Achingly beautiful car indeed

[@Steve-gc5nt]

Thank you for your newsletter email today. An interesting read 👍

[@lynnhooley7608]

Thank you Matteo!

[@Matteo_Licata]

My pleasure! Thank you for watching!

[@mlodykonieczko5770]

Thanks :)

[@jordiperez2519]

It's true: I absolutely love your videos Matteo !

[@Matteo_Licata]

Wow, thank you very much for your appreciation! :)

[@deepakhazareesingh44]

Nice video as always, Matteo. Did you know that Iso was involved in F1 in the early 70's with Frank Williams and one of their drivers was Jacques Laffite

[@Matteo_Licata]

Yes I knew that but, since I had no footage to go with it, I decided to gloss over Iso's brief foray into F1

[@MR-ys7tg]

I liked my Iso Griffo….Matchbox model❤

[@sebastiangoseke6321]

I was waiting for this one, and it was worth the wait! Great job once again!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Glad you liked it, thank you!

[@mescko]

I always smile when I hear "never heard of". I've known about Iso since I was a teen. From the time I could read I devoured every book on cars I could. I have never run into any fellow American that knew about as many cars as I do. My collection would be like Jay's. From everywhere. I suspect it's a simple matter of knowing more about cars made in your own country. Though I've run into plenty of fellow countrymen that are openly hostile to anything made anywhere else. Stupid. I love learning about cars that I don't know about. In the USA alone since the start of the automotive industry there have been over 2500 car companies. Some only made a handful and none survive.

[@Matteo_Licata]

The "never heard of" in the title I admit it's there for clickbait more than anything else. KZbin runs on boasts and superlatives, after all. I'm glad you've learned and can appreciate all kinds of cars, and I feel very much the same. I got my favorites as everyone does, but I appreciate good design and interesting engineering everywhere I see it.

[@mescko]

@@Matteo_Licata I still see comments in various car videos along the lines of, 'I never heard of a Gordon-Keeble before, cool car!'. I just shake my head and think, if you're a car guy why don't you know? At any rate I did enjoy the video. Iso's were/are beautiful cars, I simply love car interiors with wood in them. For me, the pretty european cars largely stopped with the demise of slim chrome bumpers and front-engined chassis. Dinosaur, that's me. 🙂

[@diegolarrache]

thank you Matteo! great video as always.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Glad you liked it!

[@gillesdebritalycars]

So nice video!!!!!!! thanks

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you!

[@Stratoszero]

Nice video of some of my favourite cars. Some truly stunning designs from Bertone. Any of these were great when playing Top Trumps to beat most things with their engine size! Haha you may have been bit hard on the Varedo, it looks nice from the front anyway. Ercole Spada's challenging designs sometimes take a few years to become accapted like his Ferrari Testarossa, which predicted their front end styling 10 years ahead. Perhaps the Varedo missed its time, anyway I hope one day to see it in Piero's museum in Florida.

[@nicholassheffo5723]

Great video!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you!

[@dough740]

Can't disguise a Giugaro- stunning lines and proportions

[@Matteo_Licata]

He really is the greatest!

[@onkelmicke9670]

The Iso Grifo has always been one of my favourite cars. Of course I have never owned one.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Hardly anyone ever owned a Grifo, sadly! The world surely needs more of these beauties on the road!

[@mckengineer5727]

Love Roadster Life…😁

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you!!!

[@Suprahampton]

I like the Lele Sport

[@darrenwilson8042]

I was aware of the Iso Grifo and Rivolta - I am not a bike guy either but those scooters and bikes looked really cool

[@Matteo_Licata]

Not a bike guy either, but they do look like little jewels those bikes. Hard to imagine those were just meant to be cheap runarounds

[@Belznis]

Beautiful car, I have never heard of it before this video. Design bears some similarities with other car makers, but it does look unique.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Glad to have shown you something new!

[@brunotulliani]

I knew of the Grifo but discovered a whole new set of amazing models. Great episode again! Some suggestions on possible future videos like De Tomaso and Bizzarrini.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you! Yes, I'd really like to cover De Tomaso and Bizzarrini models in future videos, but that depends on whether I get the chance to film such cars. I'll see what I can do!

[@paullacey2999]

They are cool cars.The bikes look good also,ever thought of branching out and doing some italian bike stories Matteo?You'd do them justice I'm sure...

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you for your appreciation! You're not the first one to ask me about Italian motorbikes, but I'm afraid I won't branch out into 'bikes anytime soon. I try to stick to stuff I'm knowledgeable about, and I know very little about motorbikes, either Italian or not.

[@MicrobyteAlan]

Interesting, thank you 👋

[@Matteo_Licata]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@marcbrasse747]

I off course mean the Grifo!

[@italianduded1161]

ah le Iso Rivolta.... bellissime, come le De Tomaso ed altre macchine Italiane con motori stranieri mi fanno storcere il naso per questa ragione... ma dopo averle studiate affondo (capendo che c'è un perché riguardo i motori americani) me ne sono innamorato... motori americani o no, queste sono macchine 100% Italiane!!! Stupende, gran bel video come sempre RL XD vidi due Iso Grifo alla fiera di Milano l'anno scorso... bellissime, una verde e l'altra (questa l'ho vista da vicino) bianca, wow, quando ci si mettono gli Italiani... lasciamo fare va. AH vidi anche una Iso Fidia... oh almeno, non l'avevo notata perché stavo fotografando una Fiat Dino Coupé (altra macchina stupenda), sfogliando le foto... toh... occasione sprecata ahahahahah.

[@rabit818]

I had a blue Matchbox ISO when I was a kid (yes, i am an aging hipster). Beautiful muscle car. Also there was an ISO Anthony Perkins crashed in the movie Mahogany w Diana Ross (unintentional funny/camp movie).

[@Matteo_Licata]

Didn't know that! I'll look for that scene on KZbin, I'm curious now :)

[@Whatshisname346]

I know everyone loves the Grifo but I’ve always had a thing the the Lele. There’s a bit of Citroen BX about it. It’s just cool in a weird way.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Yeah, I see that. Both Gandini designs, coincidentally

[@kathyortiz8774]

Moon built an Iso in the early 70s, and discussed it in the Moon catalog. Joe

[@gearhead9828]

I think the Lele was named after Piero's wife. Although I forgot what her full name was 🤦‍♂️ Very cool video, thanks a lot. Ciao 🙋‍♂️

[@ValdezJu]

Sbalorditivo! 🇮🇹

[@1258-Eckhart]

The Lele looks like a dry run for the Espada. And if I've never heard of Iso, I've never heard of Fiat.

[@kobuserasmus2934]

Possibly the most beautiful car ever in my opinion, the Grifo makes an E-type look average

[@Matteo_Licata]

I thought the same while standing next to that sweet metallic green Grifo... Truly magnificent, there's not a bad angle on it.

[@shawnhollahan590]

Somebody's heard of them because they're nearly $700,000 each

[@Matteo_Licata]

Fair point :)

[@alaricbragg7843]

Fidia looks like a Leyland P76 - which was also Italian designed!

[@akr01364]

I do sometimes wonder how ISO would've faired had they used a slightly tuned, Cadillac v8 instead? In the 70s that brand still had cache. Despite the fact its engines were derived from. The same, small block design. Racing on Sunday and sell on Monday is really just a description of automotive marketing, after all and such a sleight of hand wouldn't have been well noticed.

[@studiocalder818]

😁

[@Matteo_Licata]

I don't know if Iso ever considered any other engine than the Chevy 327, there seemingly is no evidence of that. But yes, a Cadillac engine would have probably been better from an image standpoint.

[@lukasuton2433]

i knew of iso griffo before computer age

[@paulmeester5401]

The favorite car of john lennon and andreas baader.... by the way where is this filmed?

[@Matteo_Licata]

I've filmed all of it thanks to a recently inaugurated exhibition here in Turin, at the national automobile museum. It'll run until June

[@wickiezulu]

Do any images exist of the 1956 (?) Iso 400 prototype? The cybermotorcycle page for Iso mentions a 400-500cc Boxer engine that was said to have been used in an Isocarro van and truck as well as planned for an motorcycle that did not reach production, is it possible the unbuilt Iso 400 was to use the same engine?

[@Matteo_Licata]

Yes, I got a very well detailed book about Iso's cars (it's in Italian btw) and the stillborn Iso 400 project is mentioned together with all the other experiments. There are pics too, and the car did indeed use the boxer from the Isocarro 400

[@wickiezulu]

Is it the Flavio Campetti book (not go t it myself)? Found an image of a Blue Coupe prototype purporting to be the Iso 400 (vaguely resembling the 1957 Fiat 500 Minnie Vignale by Michelotti with a hint of the latter's BMW 700) , claimed to be built between 57-58 by Ermenegildo Preti. The time period alone makes one think if beside Michelotti (who did some work at Iso), a certain Wolfgang Denzel also had some involvement. Not clear if the Boxer motor was designed by Iso or elsewhere, or if it was still rear-engined despite deceptively looking front-engined.

[@wickiezulu]

Seems Michelotti was indeed involved with the Iso 400, on top of that aside from the small 15-21 hp 400-500cc engine (that was competitive with the smallest Puch 500 unit). It was conventional and of similar size like the Toyota Publica whilst also including wagon and possibly even 4-door bodystyles - all based from the Isocarro 400 truck.

[@lukasuton2433]

and original isseta

[@alexandermathar7780]

ISO would have been nothing without BMW and without the licence fees from the Isetta production.

[@Matteo_Licata]

The licence fees from BMW and the other manufacturers that took on the Isetta were indeed crucial to ISO's survival in the aftermath of the model's flop in its native Italy.

[@luiscarlosvieira3966]

Sorry but your followers are more informed than you think... this channel is not for ignorant... Of course a lot of us knows Iso Rivolta...

[@Matteo_Licata]

I know I have among the most knowledgeable viewers out there, a fact I'm reminded of with every comment I read. The title is deliberately tongue-in-cheek, meant to instill curiosity and get clicks. You gotta play the game, here on KZbin...

[@luiscarlosvieira3966]

@@Matteo_Licata lol... I know that too... keep up the good work... Roadster Life and Number 27 are my favorite YT car channels... 👌...

[@oliveroneill1388]

Great job as ever . Love your work.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you!

[@oliveroneill1388]

Could look into the T.M.C. costin first car made in wexford in ireland. 2 seater . Could you look into this small manufacturer. Only made afew hundred . But the only car built in the Republic of Ireland. I would love if you could

[@Matteo_Licata]

Although I have covered some non-Italian cars in the past, I've decided to stick to Italian motoring stories for the future