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1-Of-192: 1968 Iso Rivolta S4

Hiding under that cover is one of the great hidden GT cars of the swinging 1960s. With styling that came from the pen of Giorgetto Giugiaro when he was at Ghia, the Iso Rivolta S4, also known as the Rivolta Fadia, or just the Iso Fadia, is a striking looking vehicle. This one will need a full restoration, but as you will see, it might be in the right place at the right time for this to happen. The Iso is currently located in Athens, Greece, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN of £85,000, which on current exchange rates, is around US$110,300. There is also the option available to make an offer.

The Fadia was developed and introduced by Iso to compete with cars like the Maserati Quattroporte, but development and production costs blew out enormously, and this saw the car finally go on sale with a price that was up in Rolls-Royce territory. This had an impact on sales volumes and explains why it is such an unknown. In the end, only around 192 people were willing to pay that sort of money for the car. This one appears to be a solid vehicle, although it does look like there might be some corrosion developing in a few spots around the car. The owner says that the car is actually rust-free. It has spent its life in Athens, and that climate tends to be fairly kind to cars in that respect. According to the owner, the car didn’t start its life painted in its current shade of Green. He claims that the car was originally finished in Brown, and was the car that Iso used in its promotional literature. It is now in need of complete restoration, but the listing seems to indicate that the car is actually being sold by a restoration firm and that this might be able to be arranged by them following purchase.

The feeling of elegance and luxury is so obvious inside the vehicle, with plenty of real timber, and hand-stitched leather. Once again, this is an area that is going to require a full restoration, but at least it does appear to be largely complete. The early versions of the car, at least up until the Fadia underwent an interior update in 1971, featured a timber dash. From 1971, this was changed to a leather-upholstered item, but owners felt that the upgrade was actually a retrograde step. They felt that the new dash was nowhere near as user-friendly as the dash that is fitted to this car. Apart from the presence of timber and leather, the Nardi steering wheel and power windows are nice features to have.

When we delve under the Iso, we find that it is equipped with the most desirable drive-train available in a Fadia of this era. The engine is a 327ci Corvette V8, producing 350hp. The power from this is sent to a 5-speed ZF transaxle, fitted with a limited-slip differential. The 327 was the only engine available in the Fadia at this point in time, but in keeping with so many cars that were hand-built, low-volume vehicles, there was a pretty wide choice of transmissions available. The good news here is that while things look tired and untidy under the hood, the Fadia runs and drives well, and the engine produces no smoke or weird noises. The performance was all that you would expect from a true GT car, with the Iso capable of accelerating from 0-60mph in 6.4 seconds and tearing through the ¼ mile in 14.9 seconds. With the 5-speed transaxle, the Iso could also reach a top speed of 143mph. All of those figures were very impressive back in 1967, and they still don’t look too bad today.

When it comes to the rarity stakes, the Iso Fadia is a typical, low-volume car. The fact that only 192 cars were built during a 9-year model cycle certainly qualifies it as rare. It will need to be completely restored, but once completed, it has the potential to be a fast and attractive car. Whether it is financially viable will depend on how accurate the owner has been with his description. These don’t often come onto the market, and when they do, earlier cars tend to perform better than later examples. A good one can command a price of around $150,000, although later examples will generally sell for less. If this car needs little more than a cosmetic restoration, it will still get perilously close to that sort of figure, and that’s without factoring in any unforeseen issues. Having said that, even if the whole thing does happen to venture slightly over that magic figure, the next owner will still have a pretty rare GT to drive and enjoy.

Comments

  1. Avatar Moparman Member

    To my eye, the side profile looks a liitle odd, what with all of the greenhouse lines canted back, until you get to the rear window, with the line canted forward! :-)

    Like 5
    • Avatar Pat

      Similar to the 65-66 chev caprice 2 door coupe

      Like 0
  2. Avatar B3

    Always admired the ISO brand! However, the correct model name is Fidia ;)

    Like 4
  3. Avatar Gio

    Fidia, like the Greek sculptor. Not Fadia.

    Like 3
  4. Avatar ken tilly UK Member

    For the first time since I found the BF site I have to agree with some of the guys who decry four door cars, (which I prefer), however I have to agree with Moparman above, this car from the side on is positively out of proportion and ends up being just ugly IMO.

    Like 5
  5. Avatar YankeeTR5

    crack pipe price. Well, to be kind, perhaps the seller accidentally added an extra zero to the price.
    An ISO Rivolta – a two door pretty stylish coupe sells for between 65-100K in #2 condition. An ugly 4 door from the same mfg? Like I said, drop a zero fro the price and you’re probably closer than the asking BIN price.

    Like 2
  6. Avatar Billieg

    Yawn…..

    Like 1
  7. Avatar Randy Member

    It’s spelled Fidia, not Fadia, and if it’s so overpriced the seller is obviously on drugs.

    Like 1
  8. Avatar Blyndgesser

    Fidia, not “Fadia.”

    Like 5
    • Avatar Concinnity

      Came here to post that too. You have to get the name right Barn Finds.
      Fidia.

      Like 1
  9. Avatar Bobby Longshot

    Iso Rivolting.

    Like 5
  10. Avatar Peter Atherton

    Whats with the Peugeot badge in the grille????

    Like 0
    • Avatar KarlS

      No, the Peugeot heraldry is much less complex than that of the Rivolta family’s.

      Like 1
  11. Avatar Michael Streuly

    What a pile.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar CJinSD

    It’s probably only overpriced by a factor of ten.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar t-BONE BOB

    I’ve seen one of these ‘in the flesh’. They aren’t unattractive by any means, but the styling is a little fussy. Kind of a personal taste.

    Like 1
  14. Avatar Alex

    I own car #21 a 1967 Iso S4 which is the correct model reference prior to 1969. The car is in New York.
    My car has just gone through a 3 year rotisserie nut and bolt restoration. Original livery was dark green with tan suede interior. It is now gun barrel grey with blood red suede interior. The car is simply gorgeous and is a pleasure to drive.
    The green barn find looks appealing though I would not entertain another S4 project. Parts are very very difficult to source and extremely expensive. The price on the car is also off but not as much as the rest of the posts suggest. ISO’s have seen a revaluation in the past 5 years (lead by Grifos of course) and Fidias are very rare. If the car is all there parts wise it’s worth about $50k. A concourse car is in the $150k-250k range. Best to all

    Like 2
  15. Avatar robinlarry

    Alex,
    I just purchased #21. Give me a shout if you see this. robinlarry(at)aol.comr

    Like 0

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