1974 ISO Grifo Coupe Vehicle Profile

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.