Iso Grifo: The Exquisite Italian Grand Tourer Powered by American Muscle

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In the mid-20th century, amidst the golden age of sports cars, a lesser-known Italian automaker, Iso, stepped into the arena to challenge the likes of Ferrari, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo. While Iso may not be a household name today, it left its mark on automotive history And graced us with its exceptional creation, the Iso Grifo. For a brief but glorious period, from 1965 to 1974, the Grifo combined the brawny performance of American muscle cars with the finesse and sophistication of European grand tourers.
The story of Iso begins in the late 1930s when the company, originally named Isothermos, manufactured refrigerators and electric heaters in Genoa. After World War II, Renzo Rivolta, the visionary owner, moved operations to Bresso near Milan. Recognizing the demand for motorcycles and scooters in post-war Italy, Iso ventured into two-wheeled transportation.
Their big break came with a car that most of you guys have probably heard of, the Isetta, a microcar that ingeniously combined the efficiency of a motorcycle with the comfort of a car. The Isetta became an instant sensation in Italy. Now I can hear many people asking, but wasn’t the Isetta a BMW, well Yes you see this company originally made the Isetta and it was eventually licensed to BMW, where it achieved even greater success in Germany.
With the profits from the Isetta, Rivolta set his sights on a new dream: building sports cars. Quite a leap, man went from friges to supercars.
Anyways In 1962, Iso introduced the IR 300, a two-seat grand tourer powered by a Chevrolet 327 V8 engine. While it was an impressive car, Iso's true masterpiece was yet to come.
In 1965, the Iso Grifo A3/L prototype was unveiled. Named after the mythical creature combining the attributes of a lion and an eagle, the Grifo was designed to be a harmonious blend of Italian design and American performance. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.
Now The Grifo's stunning bodywork was penned by the legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, then working at Bertone. Its beauty was rivalled only by its powerful heart, a 300-horsepower 5.4-liter Chevrolet small-block V8 engine. The chassis and powertrain were meticulously refined by none other than Giotto Bizzarrini, the genius engineer behind the Ferrari 250 GTO and Lamborghini's legendary V12.
This collaboration between Italian design and American muscle was a recipe for success, offering the perfect alternative to the more expensive Ferraris, Maseratis, and Alfa Romeos of the time.
Giotto Bizzarrini was so impressed by the Grifo's performance that he created a racing version, the Grifo A3/C. This "Corsa" version featured an upgraded 400-horsepower engine and significant weight reductions. It was the spiritual successor to the Ferrari 250 GTO.
Both the road-legal Grifo A3/L and the racing A3/C garnered universal acclaim when unveiled in 1963 at the Turin Motor Show. The A3/L, in particular, was celebrated for its exquisite design, potent engine, and luxurious features like power windows, air conditioning, and a finely crafted leather interior.
But even with all of this success Iso didn't rest on its laurels. In 1966, they introduced a Targa top variant of the Grifo, followed by the formidable 7 Litri in 1968. The 7 Litri was equipped with a massive Tri-Power version of the 427 cubic inch Chevrolet big-block engine, producing a staggering 435 horsepower and propelling the car to a top speed of 186 mph.
The Series II Grifo arrived in 1970, featuring a redesigned front end with hidden headlights. That same year, Iso launched the high-performance Grifo Can-Am, which boasted a more potent 7.4-liter Chevrolet engine paired with a five-speed ZF manual gearbox. This version could also go over 186MPH on a long enough straight. And rember these cars where build back in the 60s and early 70s. And although they might be lesser known than the Ferraris, and lambos of the era, the performance and design was on par or better than those of its competitors.
Then In 1972, Iso adopted Ford power, fitting the Grifo IR-8 with the Boss 351 small-block engine. And they where doing well, the cars where performing well people loved them so whats next?
Well Tragically, Iso's journey came to an end in 1974 due to the oil crisis that plagued the global automotive industry. The company simply didn’t have the capital to survive and they had to close their doors. Now Over the nine-year production run, only 413 Iso Grifos were meticulously hand-built at the Bresso plant.

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