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1963 Iso Grifo (Bertone)

Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963 - Photo: Ken-Brown
Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963 - Photo: Ken-Brown
Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963 - Photo: Ken-Brown
Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963 - Photo: Ken-Brown
Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963 - Photo: Ken-Brown
Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963 - Photo: Ken-Brown
Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963
Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963
Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963
Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963
Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963
Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype (Bertone), 1963
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964 - Both Bertone and Iso were so pleased with the reception of the Iso A3/L prototype that they decided to make chassis number 002 a convertible version in 1964. Although it was Nuccio Bertone who pushed Renzo Rivolta for this and Bertone’s company did essentially all of the work.
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964 - Both Bertone and Iso were so pleased with the reception of the Iso A3/L prototype that they decided to make chassis number 002 a convertible version in 1964. Although it was Nuccio Bertone who pushed Renzo Rivolta for this and Bertone’s company did essentially all of the work.
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964 - Only one Iso A3/L (Grifo) Spider was made and it was made at Bertone, closely supervised by Giorgetto Giugiaro.
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964 - Only one Iso A3/L (Grifo) Spider was made and it was made at Bertone, closely supervised by Giorgetto Giugiaro.
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964
Iso Grifo A3/L Spider (Bertone), 1964
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo Coupe G.L. (Bertone), 1965-70
Iso Grifo 7-litri Coupe (Bertone), 1968-70 - The discreet “7-Litre” badge and raised hood section identify this as a late- Sixties Grifo with Chevrolet 427 big-block power.
Iso Grifo 7-litri Coupe (Bertone), 1968-70 - The discreet “7-Litre” badge and raised hood section identify this as a late- Sixties Grifo with Chevrolet 427 big-block power.
Iso Grifo 7-litri Coupe (Bertone), 1968-70 - Sales Brochure
Iso Grifo 7-litri Coupe (Bertone), 1968-70 - Sales Brochure
Iso Grifo Series 2, 1970-74 - The Iso Grifo series two, introduced in 1970, was basically the same car as the series one Grifo with the headlights partially covered
Iso Grifo Series 2, 1970-74 - The Iso Grifo series two, introduced in 1970, was basically the same car as the series one Grifo with the headlights partially covered
Iso Grifo Series 2, 1970-74
Iso Grifo Series 2, 1970-74
Iso Grifo Series 2 7-litri Coupe, 1970-74 - Sales Brochure
Iso Grifo Series 2 7-litri Coupe, 1970-74 - Sales Brochure
Iso Grifo Series 2 7-litri Coupe, 1970-74 - Sales Brochure
Iso Grifo Series 2 7-litri Coupe, 1970-74 - Sales Brochure
Iso Grifo Series 2 7-litri Coupe, 1970-74 - Sales Brochure
Iso Grifo Series 2 7-litri Coupe, 1970-74 - Sales Brochure
Iso Grifo Prototype - Guigiaro' Design Sketch
Iso Grifo Prototype - Guigiaro' Design Sketch
Images: Bertone; mycarquest.com; www.isoregister.de
Rating:  24    -0    +24
You may not see a connection between the tiny two-cylinder Isetta “bubblecars” of the Fifties and the mighty Iso Grifo of the Sixties, but it’s there. Renzo Rivolta, founder and head of Iso S.p.A. of Bresso, near Milan, was responsible for both.

Iso’s business was founded on refrigerators and, later, those strange little 236-cc Isettas. But Rivolta wanted a much more ambitious car, and in 1960 was attracted by the promise of the Chevrolet-powered British Gordon GT prototype. After borrowing it for inspection, he borrowed some of its ideas for a new high-performance 2 + 2 that would appear in 1962 as the Iso-Rivolta (Renzo was nothing if not immodest about names).

Giotto Bizzarrini, the noted freelance Italian engineer who’d been on the staff at Maranello and was largely responsible for developing Ferrari’s celebrated 250 GTO, was hired to design a new chassis around Corvette running gear. Bertone was contracted for body styling and production; the youthful Giorgio Giugiaro penned the shape.

The result was a tastefully restrained steel-body notchback coupe with all-independent suspension and a top speed of over 140 mph. Some were fitted with ZF 5-speed gearboxes, others with the Corvette’s Borg-Warner T-10 4-speed manual or GM 3-speed automatic. Though sales were as low as production, the Rivolta paved the way for an even more exciting Italo-American hybrid.

A year after the Rivolta debuted, Giugiaro and Bertone produced the stunning Grifo A3L prototype coupe. Though first shown at Turin in early 1963, it wouldn’t be production-ready for another two years, by which time several features had been toned down and the car made more civilized.

The body was still steel, but this time it was a big, curvy fastback with large engine-cooling grids in the front fenders, gaping twin-mouth grille, a l-o-n-g hood, and a tidy tail chopped Kamm-style. This was welded to a pressed-steel chassis, resulting in a very rigid structure.

Predictably, the Grifo shared running gear and suspension with the Rivolta but was tuned for higher performance. The engine was Chevrolet’s 327-cubic-inch small-block V-8 as used in the contemporary Corvette, initially offered with a choice of 300 and 365 horsepower. Front suspension was via conventional wishbones and coil springs, while the rear employed a coil-sprung De Dion live axle located by radius arms and Watt linkage. Brakes were four-wheel discs, of course, steering recirculating-ball.

With a top speed of at least 160 mph in 365-bhp form, the Grifo was as fast as any Italian supercar and as lovely to behold. Yet bluebloods seemed to forget its “native” (Bizzarrini) design, preferring to sniff at the crude, low-cost Yankee mechanicals. A jingoistic attitude, that, for the small-block Chevy proved time and again to be just as powerful as any exotic Latin engine and a lot more durable.

As expected of Bizzarrini, the Grifo was solid, handled and stopped well, and generally behaved in a very safe, if extroverted, manner. The main problem was that the Iso marque had nowhere near the prestige and snob-appeal of Ferrari or Maserati (Lamborghini also had the same problem at first), so it wasn’t easy to attract orders from the well-heeled types at whom the car was aimed.

The Grifo chassis was also used for a four-door Iso sedan, the Fidia S4 of 1967, and the 2 + 2 Lele fastback, arriving two years later. But the Grifo was always the fastest, because of its low build (only 47 inches high) and good aerodynamics. By that point, buyers could order the big-block Chevrolet 427 V-8, which brought a central hood section raised not only to clear the engine but provide more effective cooling. So equipped, a Grifo could exceed 170 mph, truly mind-boggling for the time.

With the early Seventies came a facelifted Grifo, marked by a lower nose with semi-hidden headlamps — and a decline in Iso’s fortunes. The 1973 Energy Crisis severely hurt sales of all Italian thoroughbreds, but Iso, always a marginal producer at best, suffered more than most. Production duly wound down in 1974 after 412 Grifos had been built, including a few late examples with Ford 351 “Cleveland” engines.

auto.howstuffworks.com


Хотя первую модель Rivolta часто критиковали за степенный внешний вид, второй вариант этой машины - купе Grifo - оказался потрясающе привлекательным.

Дизайн снова принадлежал Bertone, но на этот раз машина была ниже, шире и представляла собой 2-местное купе с колесной базой короче на 0,2 м по сравнению с Rivolta. Узлы и агрегаты остались прежними.

За исключением внешнего вида, Grifo с течением лет менялся. Предлагались все более и более мощные двигатели и 5-ступенчатая коробка передач. Все машины развивали очень высокую скорость, а редкие 7- и 7,4-литровые экземпляры превышали значение скорости 273 км/ч. По характеристикам они конкурировали с автомобилем Ferrari V12 Daytona.

Первые Grifo получили 4 фары при обычном проеме в передней облицовке, но в дальнейшем внешний вид автомобилей изменился и фары стали наполовину убирающимися.

Модели типа Grifo можно критиковать за разнородные составляющие и использование несовершенных американских двигателей V8, но шасси машины выдерживало сравнение со своими экзотическими итальянскими конкурентами. Автомобиль был спортивным и, несмотря на тяжелый двигатель, распределение нагрузки на колеса оказалось равным.

Но все же Grifo не пользовался таким спросом, как его конкуренты. За 10 лет было продано всего 504 автомобиля.

avtoclassika.com
Coachbuilder: Bertone
1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Coupe (Bertone), 1952 Abarth 1500 Coupe Biposto (Bertone), 1953 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 5 (Bertone), 1953 Arnolt Bristol (Bertone), 1953 Aston Martin DB 2/4 (Bertone), 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe (Bertone), 1953 Dodge Zeder (Bertone), 1953 Fiat Siata 8V (Bertone), 1954 Alfa Romeo 2000 Sportiva (Bertone), 1954 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 7 (Bertone), 1954 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint (Bertone), 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Spider (Bertone), 1955 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 9 (Bertone), 1955 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider (Bertone), 1956 Abarth 750 (Bertone), 1956 Abarth Record (Bertone), 1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale (Bertone), 1957 Fiat Stanguellini 1200 Spider (Bertone), 1957 Jaguar XK150 (Bertone), 1958 Abarth Alfa Romeo 1000 (Bertone), 1958 NSU Sport Prinz (Bertone), 1959 Maserati 3500 GT Coupe (Bertone), 1959 OSCA 1500 (Bertone), 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Prototype EW (Bertone), 1960 Gordon-Keeble GT (Bertone), 1961 ASA 1000 GT (Bertone), 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Jet (Bertone), 1961 BMW 3200 CS (Bertone), 1961 Ferrari 250GT (Bertone), 1961 Maserati 5000 GT Coupe (Bertone), 1962 Iso Rivolta GT (Bertone), 1962 Simca 1000/1200S Coupe (Bertone), 1963 Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint HS (Bertone), 1963 Chevrolet Corvair Testudo (Bertone), 1963 Iso Grifo (Bertone), 1964 Alfa Romeo Canguro (Bertone), 1965 Fiat 850 Spider (Bertone), 1965 Ford Mustang (Bertone), 1966 Jaguar FT (Bertone), 1966 Lamborghini Miura (Bertone), 1966 Porsche 911 Roadster (Bertone), 1967 Alfa Romeo Montreal Expo Prototipo (Bertone), 1967 Fiat 125 Executive (Bertone), 1967 Jaguar Pirana (Bertone), 1967 Lamborghini Marzal (Bertone), 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo (Bertone), 1968 Bertone Panther, 1968 Lamborghini Espada (Bertone), 1968 Lamborghini Miura Roadster (Bertone), 1969 Autobianchi Runabout (Bertone), 1969 BMW 2800 Spicup (Bertone), 1969 Fiat 128 Coupe (Bertone), 1969 Iso Lele (Bertone), 1970 Bertone Shake, 1970 BMW 2200 TI Garmisch (Bertone), 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero (Bertone), 1971 Lamborghini Countach (Bertone), 1971 Lamborghini Urraco (Bertone), 1971 Lancia Stratos HF (Bertone), 1972 Citroen Camargue (Bertone), 1972 Fiat X1/9 (Bertone), 1972 Maserati Khamsin (Bertone), 1972 Suzuki Go (Bertone), 1973 NSU Trapeze (Bertone), 1974 Fiat 127 Village (Bertone), 1974 Lamborghini Bravo (Bertone), 1974 Maserati Quattroporte II (Bertone), 1975 Fiat 131 Abarth (Bertone), 1975 Fiat Visitors Bus (Bertone), 1975 Fiat X1/9 Dallara (Bertone), 1976 Alfa Romeo Navajo (Bertone), 1976 Ferrari Rainbow (Bertone), 1977 Jaguar Ascot (Bertone), 1978 Lancia Sibilo (Bertone), 1979 Volvo Tundra (Bertone), 1980 Lamborghini Athon (Bertone), 1981 Mazda MX-81 Aria (Bertone), 1982 Citroen BX (Bertone), 1983 Alfa Romeo Delfino (Bertone), 1984 Chevrolet Ramarro (Bertone), 1986 Citroen Zabrus (Bertone), 1988 Lamborghini Genesis (Bertone), 1989 Bugatti EB 110 Proposal (Bertone), 1990 Chevrolet Corvette Nivola (Bertone), 1991 Lotus Emotion (Bertone), 1992 Bertone Blitz, 1992 Fiat Cinquecento RUSH (Bertone), 1994 Bertone ZER (Zero Emission Record), 1994 Fiat Punto Racer (Bertone), 1994 Porsche Karisma (Bertone), 1995 Lancia Kayak (Bertone), 1995 Opel Maxx (Bertone), 1996 Citroen Berlingo Coupe de Plage (Bertone), 1996 Fiat Enduro (Bertone), 1996 Opel Slalom (Bertone), 1997 Alfa Romeo Sportut (Bertone), 1998 Bertone Pickster, 1999 Alfa Romeo Bella (Bertone), 1999 Mazda Neospace (Bertone), 2000 Bertone Slim, 2001 Oldsmobile O4 (Bertone), 2001 Opel Filo (Bertone), 2001 Saab 9X (Bertone), 2002 Bertone Novanta, 2003 Alfa Romeo GT Coupe (Bertone), 2003 Bertone Birusa, 2003 Opel Insignia (Bertone), 2004 Aston Martin Jet2 (Bertone), 2005 Cadillac Villa Design Study (Bertone), 2006 Bertone Suagna, 2007 Chery A6CC Coupe (B23) (Bertone), 2007 Fiat Barchetta (Bertone), 2008 Bertone B.A.T. 11, 2009 Bertone Mantide, 2010 Alfa Romeo Pandion (Bertone), 2011 Jaguar B99 (Bertone), 2011 Jaguar B99 GT (Bertone), 2012 Bertone Nuccio, 2013 Aston Martin Jet 2+2 (Bertone), 2022 Bertone GB110, 2024 Bertone Runabout
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