1971 Iso Grifo

The Iso Grifo's gestation and development is one of the more interesting stories in the supercar world. Iso Rivolta had been in business building cars since 1953, but it wasn't until ex-Ferrari freelance engineer Giotto Bizzarrini joined forces with Iso to build the Grifo that the company hit the big time. Giotto's company, Prototipo Bizzarrini, was based in Livorno, and quickly established itself as the go-to consultancy for companies such as ATS and Lamborghini. It also worked for Iso.

Bizzarrini then built the one-off Corvette-powered Iso Grifo A3/L for Renzo Rivolta, who was looking for a follow-up to the Rivolta GT. It was this car, which was based on the Iso Rivolta, with arresting styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro – who was then at Bertone – that would end-up being finessed into production. Bizzarrini also built what he called his 'Improved GTO', the Grifo A3/C, which was designed for racing. That car had many modifications over the A3/L, and would end up evolving into the Bizzarrini Strada after the two companies parted in 1965.

The production Grifo was launched in 1963, and combined all-Italian engineering and Bertone styling with ample American power to create one of the era's great sports cars, and one which, until recently was really rather undervalued. The engine was a Corvette V-8 offered in 300 and 365 bhp form, for a maximum speed of more than 160 mph. Suspension was carried over from the Rivolta GT, with wishbones and coils up front and a coil-sprung De Dion live axle at the rear. Handling was typically excellent, as you'd expect from a Bizzarrini-designed chassis.

It was an appealing supercar addition that that made good of its torquey V-8, although sales never met its maker's expectations. But despite that, it had the handling and poise to cut it against Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini’s finest. In 1969, and to answer the call of the Ferrari Dayton and Maserati Ghibli, the Grifo received a 7.0-litre (427 cid) Chevrolet V-8 developing a whopping 390 bhp for true top drawer performance. Maximum speed was up to a claimed 170 mph and 0-60 mph was around six seconds. However, the Grifo didn't surprise anyone in the early 1970s when Iso went out of business. Survival rate is high because they've long since been appreciated for what they are – thoroughbred sports cars – and unrestored examples are now understandably rare.