Vintage car enthusiasts owe a debt to the profitability of bicycles and motorbikes, and the bravado of Italian industrialists. Countless car companies sprouted from bike makers and dozens of exotics arose from the willingness of Italian scions to gamble fortunes to advance their ideas for track or road. Iso Rivolta, for instance, began by making refrigerators and heaters; it evolved toward motorbikes, and by 1953 it was making what amounted to a motorcycle with sheet metal. This was the Isetta and it was manufactured in Germany by BMW, in France by Velam, and in South America. Despite this success, Renzo Rivolta, the company founder, felt he could contribute in another arena: he complained that Ferraris and Lamborghinis were not durable or reliable, leaving space for an improved grand touring car. In the late 1950s, he made a hard turn away from microcars to create a GT, aided by the availability of Giotto Bizzarini, who had been ousted from Ferrari. The collaboration of these two along with Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone produced the Iso Rivolta 300 GT. Fewer than 800 would be made. Here on facebook Marketplace is a 1966 version, with an asking price of $84,500 or trades plus cash. This car is located in Fox Lake, Wisconsin, and the tip is courtesy of T.J. – thanks!
The Iso Rivolta 300GT is powered by a 327 cu. in. V8 engine from the Corvette, built to generate 300 bhp. This car comes with a Borg Warner four-speed manual gearbox and is said to run and drive well. The car has been driven 40,000 miles, and “mechanicals, wiring, and engine refresh have been taken care of.” Rivolta’s use of an American motor was his answer to the durability/reliability question surrounding other exotics, and the strategy had plenty of precedents. In 1958, a 1949 Ferrari 166 MM with race credentials was given a Corvette 283 cu. in. V8. The work was done in Los Angeles. That tipped off a spate of SBC engine swaps done by California speed shops for owners of exotic cars frustrated by unreliable mechanicals. Purists will blanch, but specialists stand ready today to swap American iron for your troublesome V12s no matter where they reside.
There is a single interior shot showing the dash. The seats are off-white like the material below the turned metal dash. White is tough to keep clean, and some wear is obvious here. The seller terms his car a “driver”, and my guess is that this rating would most accurately describe the interior if we could see it. On the other hand, the Borrani chrome wire wheels have been reconditioned – an expensive proposition. The tires are also new.
The paint lacks shine, but that could be the photos. Before dishing out eighty grand, I would want to inspect this one thoroughly. Parts aren’t impossible to find, but all bodywork is expensive and the leather interior would cost a pretty penny to rehabilitate if it’s not serviceable. Three Rivoltas are currently for sale, at almost double the cost of this one and all of them are located in Europe. Another sold in Europe at Bonhams for slightly less than the ask on this one. What do you think, is this one on the money or overboard?
Sheesh, Bentley, Iso Travolta[sic],,something, MB 220 ( that I get Error 404), Saab,(?) our little Barn Finds has turned into a high end classic site overnight. Aw relax, for us po’ folks, it’s strictly entertainment. What’s all this now? In Beer City/AMC/Harleytown, we just had no exposure to high end Italian sports anything. Oh sure, there was a guy in Brookfield, Kaufmann motors, I think, dealt with a lot of high end sports cars, but for Joe Lunchpail, a Fiat was about the extent. Not sure the mindset on these, Italian jobs with American engines. There were many. Not to rip on the good ol ‘SBC, but the Italians have absolute masterpieces for motors, and yes, topped with several Webers that work fine, I’m not sure what was gained by this motor. I doubt they were concerned with cost savings on a car like this. I don’t have much exposure to Italian cars, except Fiat, and I never liked their “arms out” driving position, and while the motor is capable, its sound would seem so out of place here. I’d expect a high revving, several camshaft motor singing away. Be like an Italian motor in a Corvette. Regardless of the old mans views, the Italians were capable of some fantastic cars and this is clearly one of them.
The trick with the “classic Italian driving position” is to steer as the Italians do (or at least commonly did at the time) — with the seat adjusted to put the pedals at a comfortable distance, lightly hold the bottom half of the wheel in your fingertips and shuffle it hand-to-hand there as needed, pulling down at the sides for sharper maneuvers and corners.
Thanks, but I doubt I’ll have any chance to try that. Besides, I’m more of a “steering wheel in lap, legs straight out” guy, found in British roadsters. On the summer “Colorado 500” charity cruise, I think there was a car like this.Lot of cool cars came to my little town THAT day, fo sho!
Hmm so the sbc was installed when new?? Plenty of snot I bet but I’d be afraid of breaking some odd italian made parts made of Unobtainium. Wayyyy out of this grey haired grunt’s Reach. One of the many great features of BF is the variety of the cars. Nice job, Michelle!!! Happy new year!
Cheers
GPC
ISO, being a small company, didn’t manufacturer their own engines, the more well known ISO Grifo also was originally SBC powered, later SBF.
I had a crush for the Rivolta S4, aka Fida, back in the day. Italian design, with engines that could be serviced, and hot rodded at your local Chevy dealer.
Memo to self, proof read before hitting “Post Comment.”
D’oh!
Fidia, not Fida.
Memo to self, proof read before hitting “Post Comment.”
Fidia, not Fida.
At least it wasn’t “Fido”!
This is really a splendid combination. Italian design with a stout powerplant.
Gorgeous looking car, well-engineered and built. The SBC makes it a practical proposition, so if you have the money and like the concept, the Iso Rivolta has real pedigree.
Sweet ride!! Posted 8 weeks ago.
As the Iso Rita 300 made its debut in 1962, and the first Lamborghini didn’t appear until two years later, it’s highly likely that Renzo was complaining about them not being “durable or reliable”…
I used to work on one of these for a local car collector, and it was a blast to drive.
The biggest “problem” was whenever someone asked what kind of car it was, they tended to snicker at the name, but I never felt it was “so revolting!”
https://nihilistnotes.blogspot.com/search?q=Penthouse
Quite an ecosystem of these trans-Atlantic hybrids emerged in the post-war years (Iso, De Tomaso, Facel Vega, Monteverdi et al) and many established manufacturers switched to Detroit’s V8s because they offered cheap, reliable power (Bristol, Jensen et al). Prior to producing the Rivolta, Iso had a history of successful manufacturing so had a solid administrative and accounting structure, meaning the company was well-run and profitable, not something which could be said of all the small-scale operations of the era. It was the first oil-shock of 1973 which doomed Iso and others.
Welcome to my world.
Such cars have their justification even though I think Rivolta could
have taken an 8 cyl from Lamborghini instead of the Vette engine.
If only he’d had it.
I am of the opinion, but excuse my direct expression, that stupid
peasants who can only handle a primitive 8 cyl with a single
camshaft have lost nothing on such cars.
That’s just like with the darknet, who does not know how to find
it has lost nothing there.
Oh, you’re on thin ice ripping on our “primitive V8 with single camshaft” motors, if I’m taking that right. Let me remind you, that “primitive motor” can put out 10,000 hp and leave anything Italian in the dust. It was pretty clear, the Italian motors didn’t trip our triggers, but a Corvette motor, why that could change everything,,or so they thought. The old saying, “East is East and West is West, and never the two shall meet” probably best observed here. Some big names did a lot with those “primitive motors”, and they were hardly stupid peasants and all on one stinkin’ camshaft,,amazing, huh?.
Do NOT buy without PPI from someone who really knows these cars- it has issues, starting with the incorrect front grill- probably front end collision?
I found a burned-out hulk of one in a Long Beach CA backyard in 1986… Dragged it home for $250. and immediately sold it for $1200. less than a week later. Hmmmm… Wonder if this might be the same one!? LOL
Absolutely half price in my opinion. We did a rotisserie resto for a very knowledgeable owner of one. Fabulous high quality inside and out. Wonderful smooth, fast GT car. And legititmately rare? $uper deal!
As with most cars of this era, esp. euro classics, one must inspect for rust. It looks like the rear driver’s quarter has been repaired, ala bondo, but it’s the chassis and other hidden areas that can become very costly.
This car looks to be in fair driver condition but all of those little items will really add up, not even including the big ticket items. You know, once you start it’s hard to stop. Starting in the mid $80sK in not a very favorable place. Better to find one already sorted out. Yes, the GMC drive train is reasonable to maintain but everything else is exotic.
Phillip absolutely accurate observations the undersides rust issues are very difficult to restore to original apperrance and integrity.
I like it, would def be a cool ride to cruise around on weekends… no one would know what it was for sure