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In 1940, Italian industrialist Renzo Rivolta began manufacturing refrigerators under the trade name Iso - short for 'Isotherm.' After the war, he turned first to making scooters, and then began building the ingenious Isetta bubblecar, which enjoyed little success in its native Italy, but was popular in France and Germany, where it was built under license by BMW. In 1962, Rivolta decided to begin production of a high-speed luxury car, with an American V8 engine and Italian coachwork. His second car, the Grifo, was produced in collaboration with Giotto Bizzarrini, creator of the Ferrari GTO, as engineer. in 1971, Ron Tonkin, the Portland, OR Ferrari dealer, was also an authorized Iso dealer. He purchased this example from the factory for his personal use and put 8,000 miles on it in seven years. Of the 412 Grifos produced, 376 were fitted with Chevrolet engines and the final 34 cars, including this one, were powered by Ford 351 Cleveland engines.

In 1962, the Milan car manufacturer ISO introduced its second model, the Grifo. The first was the Rivolta. Giorgio Giugiaro of Bertone designed the body and Giotto Bizzarrini, creator of the Ferrari GTO, engineered it. The Grifo was powered by a Chevrolet 5.3 liter V8 and sat atop a shortened Rivolta platform. The engine was placed in the front and drove the rear transaxle. The Borg-Warner T4 4-speed manual gearbox lacked overdrive, a problem that would cause it problems in future endurance racing. At speeds, the driver had to back off the accelerator pedal to help preserve the life of the engine. With over 400 horsepower from the GM small-block and a weighing less than 2200 pounds, the vehicle was able to achieve 190 miles-per-hour.
The Grifo was sportier than its predecessor and was available in two version, luxury and sport. The luxurious Grifo was dubbed the A3/L while the sportier version received the title A3/C. Iso produced the Grifo A3/L while Bizzarrini developed the A3/C.

In 1964 it was entered in the 12 Hours of Sebring as well as the grueling and fiercely competitive 24 Hours of Le Mans race. During its racing career it would capture a fourth overall but first in class victory at Le Mans.

During the production lifespan of the Grifo, around 22 versions of the A3/C were constructed. Due to disagreements, Bizzarrini and Rivolta parted ways in 1965. A deal was struck where Bizzarrini could still produce the Grifo A3/C cars but was unable to use the name. The new name was the Bizzarrini 5300 GT and American GT.

In 1968, a 6998 cc V8 engine became available and was later modified to 7443 cc.

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ISO: 1971-1980

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