ISO has its origins in 'Isothermos' of Bolzaneto, a factory producing electric heaters and chillers. Bought by Renzo Rivolta in 1953 to initially produce refrigerators, scooters and the original Isetta bubble car.

Iso was an automobile and motorcycle maker, the product of Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A of Italy. The company was predominantly active from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. Iso are known for the iconic Isetta bubble car of the 1950s, and for a number of powerful performance cars in the 1960s and early 1970s.

 

Headquarters Bresso, Italy

ir300 gt 1962-1970

The Iso Rivolta is a grand tourer introduced in 1962 by Italian automobile manufacturer Iso Automotoveicoli S.p.A. Company chairman Renzo Rivolta and his colleague, former Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, saw it as a gran turismo in the original sense of the term, designed for long and memorable journeys. It was the first luxury automobile introduced by the company which formerly specialised in affordable motor vehicles. For motor racing, an entirely different variant was made which bore a strong resemblance to the 1962 model Ferrari 250 GT SWB Breadvan and was homologated as a touring car.

The elegant body style was the work of a young Giorgetto Giugiaro who was working at Bertone at the time.

The engine use was a 5.4 litre Chevrolet small block engine, similar to one of the units installed in the Chevrolet Corvette. It was rated at 300 hp. Power would be increased to 340 hp with the high performance IR 340 model. The all-synchromesh 4-speed gearbox came from BorgWarner and was operated with a central floor mounted stick shift. A 3-speed automatic transmission along with a 5-speed manual transmission were also offered.

797 units of the IR 300 would be made before production would end in 1970 amid slow sales. 167 cars made were the IR 340 models.

iso grifo 7 litri  1965-1974

The Iso Grifo is a limited production grand tourer manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A. between 1965 and 1974. Intended to compete with Grand Touring offerings from Ferrari and Maserati, it used a series of American power trains and components supplied by Chevrolet and Ford. Styling was done by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone, while the mechanicals were the work of Giotto Bizzarrini. 

The first production GL models appeared in 1965 and were powered by American Chevrolet small-block 327 (5.4-litre) V8 engines fitted to American supplied Borg-Warner 4-speed manual transmissions. The 5.4-litre engine was rated at 300 hp  in its standard form and allowed the car to attain a speed of 110 km/h  in first gear.

fidia  1967-1975

The Iso Fidia (or Iso Rivolta Fidia), initially Iso Rivolta S4, is a four-door sedan which was produced by the Italian automobile maker Iso Automoveicoli S.p.A. from 1967 to 1975. The Fidia, first presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1967, was the only four-door model from Iso. Production only got underway some time after the initial presentation of the car.  The car was marketed as a unique combination of comfort and sporting performance, and the slogan that appeared in sales material was "Le quattro poltrone piu veloci del mondo" ("the four fastest seats in the world").

The body design was the work of Giorgetto Giugiaro (then at Ghia). The interior featured polished wood and hand-stitched leather. High development costs drove the purchase price higher than that of a Rolls-Royce. The Fidia's main competitors were other contemporary luxurious and sporty sedans like the Maserati Quattroporte. The second Fidia made (and the first with right hand drive) was purchased by English rockstar John Lennon: the car had celebrity appeal.

The Fidia, like other Iso cars, was originally powered by a Chevrolet V8 engine, and was quite quick off the line (0-100 km/h in around 7 seconds). By 1973, after General Motors demanded payment in advance of shipment, the engine supplier had been switched and cars were delivered with a Ford 5.8 litre V8, matched with a ZF five speed manual gear box or with Ford's own 'Cruise-O-Matic' automatic gearbox.

In 1971 Iso produced just 15 Fidias, which rose to 21 in 1972 and slid to 20 in 1973. In total, there were 192 Fidias built.

lele  1969-1974

The Iso Lele (or Iso Rivolta Lele) is a grand tourer that was produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Iso Automoveicoli S.p.A. between 1969 and 1974. The Lele, being a 2+2-seater, filled the gap between the Grifo and the Fidia while sharing its powertrain with its siblings. The styling was done by Marcello Gandini of Bertone. The car is named after Lele Rivolta, wife of Piero Rivolta (son of Iso company founder Renzo).

Meant as a Christmas present for Piere Rivolta's wife Rachelle (LeLe) Rivolta, it was decided to put the car into production to succeed the IR 300. It was first presented to the public at the 1969 New York International Auto Show and was made to compete against the Lamborghini Espada. The car was initially powered by a 350 hp General Motors V8 and was available with a 4-speed manual (later a 5-speed unit from ZF Friedrichshafen) and a 4-speed automatic transmission sourced from General Motors. In 1972, after about 125 cars had been produced, General Motors demanded that Iso pay in advance for the engines. Iso chose to replace the Chevrolet engine with Ford's Cleveland V8 rated at 325 hp. The automatic transmission was also sourced from Ford, while the manual transmission remained unchanged.

In 1973, the standard version (now known as Lele IR6) was joined by the Lele IR6 Sport, with an engine modified to generate 360 hp and only available mated to the ZF 5-speed transmission.

The angular Gandini styled body and the comfortable nature of the car did little to help sales and only 285 cars were made. About 160 Ford-engined Leles had been built by the time production wound up in 1974 due to Iso's bankruptcy.

varedo 1972

The Iso Varedo was a concept car produced by Italian car manufacturer Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A. in 1972 styled by Ercole Spada. It was unveiled at the 1972 Turin Motor Show. Only one Varedo was ever built. In about 1975, the car was found by Piero Rivolta, sitting in the old fabric, in very bad shape.
So he bought it, and restored it. It currently resides at the Sarasota Classic Car Museum in Florida.

The spectacular prototype was to symbolise a new beginning for Iso-Rivolta. The model name was also the place name of the new development and production facility. But the oil crisis in the 1970s made it difficult for manufacturers of expensive sports and luxury cars, including Iso Rivolta. The mid-engine sports car Varedo must be seen as a last rear up before the end. The Varedo should show a more modern, and less luxury alternative,
made to compete with a car like the DeTomaso Pantera.

The Varedo is powered by a mid-mounted  (5.7L) Ford 351 Cleveland V8 making 325 bhp. Power is driven to the rear wheels through a ZF 5-speed manual transmission. The Varedo also used a full fiberglass body in order to save weight.

fx3b  1973

French oil company Motul came on board for the 1972 season along with sponsor Politoys. Both companies withdrew their backing at the end of 1972, but Williams managed to attract backing from cigarette giant Marlboro and Italian sports car manufacturer Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A. for the 1973 season. The Politoys FX3 was reworked as the Iso–Marlboro FX3B and a second car was built. Two new drivers were signed, New Zealand's Howden Ganley and Italy's Nanni Galli.

The FX3B had soon become obsolete due to new deformable structure regulations and was replaced by the new Iso–Marlboro IR. However, the FX3B was raced in two non-Championship races. Both Iso Rivolta and Marlboro left before the 1974 season, leaving Williams with financial problems.

1953-1955

1955-1974

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