1974 ISO Lele Rivolta GT

Renzo Rivolta was one of the more ingenious entrepreneurs of the Italian postwar era, fueled by plentiful resources from his pre-war Isothermos refrigeration company. When peacetime resumed, Mr. Rivolta started with motorcycles and then introduced the Isetta - a wildly successful mass-market economy car that he eventually licensed in full to BMW and other companies.

During the early 1960s, Mr. Rivolta turned to touring car production with the introduction of the Iso Rivolta GT at the 1962 Turin Auto Salon. Assisting him in this monumental task was a gifted engineer named Giotto Bizzarrini, who had played a pivotal role in the development of Ferrari legends like the Testa Rossa and the 250 GTO. Bizzarrini and other Ferrari employees left Maranello in the so-called 'Palace Revolt of 1962,' many finding employment as freelance contractors.

Following on the heels of the Iso Rivolta GT was a sports car dubbed the Iso Grifo, introduced in November 1963 at the Turin Auto Show. Resting on a shortened Rivolta GT chassis, two versions were on display - a luxury touring A3/L (for Lusso) displayed on coachbuilder Bertone's stand, while Bizzarini's race-prepped A3/C (for corsa) was presented on Iso's stand. The A3/C wore aluminum coachwork penned by Bertone's Giorgietto Giugiaro and built by Piero Drogo's Carrozzeria Sports Cars in Modena. Bizzarrini provided full build execution for the AC/3 at his factory in Livorno, while Iso and Bertone took on production of the Grifo A3/L. After approximately twenty examples of the Drogo-bodied A3/C's were made, Bizzarrini left Iso altogether and continued to produce the model under his own name - the 5300 Strada.

Production of the Iso Grifo continued through the early 1970s. From 1967 to 1975, Iso built nearly two-hundred examples of a four-door sedan known as the Iso Fidia (or Iso Rivolta Fidia / initially known as the Iso Rivolta S4). Introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1967, it was the only four-door model from Iso.

Iso Lele
The Iso Lele was a 2+2 seater grand tourer positioned between the Grifo and the Fidia. It was produced from 1969 to 1974, shared its powertrain with the Grifo and Fidia, and was styled by Marcello Gandini of Bertone. Meant as a Christmas present for Piere Rivolta's wife Rachelle (LeLe) Rivolta, it was put into production as a successor to the IR 300.

Iso introduced the Lele (also known as the Iso Rivolta Lele and Iso Lele IR6) in 1969 at the New York International Auto Show. By the time production ended in 1974, a total of 285 examples had been built.

Mechanical Specification
The Iso Lele received the same Bizzarrini chassis used in Iso automobiles since the IR 300. The suspension used unequal-length double-wishbones with coil springs at the front and a de Dion layout with a Salisbury axle unit at the back. Disc brakes were placed on all four wheels and mounted inboard on the chassis. The Campagnolo alloy wheels were wrapped with 215/70 VP15 Michelin XWX tires. Steering was by a ZF power system.

The 2-door 2+2 coupe was penned by Marcello Gandini at Bertone. Styling features included hidden headlamps with popup covers partially covering the quad headlamp units when not in use. It had a 107.9-inch wheelbase, an overall length of 183.1 inches, stood 53.1 inches tall, and was 68.9 inches wide.

Engine
A 327 cubic-inch (5.4 liter / 5,354cc) V8 engine from Chevrolet with 300 horsepower was used from 1969 to 1972, and a 351 cubic-inch (5.7 liter / 5,736cc) Cleveland V8 from Ford with 325 hp from 1972 to 1974. The Lele IR6 Sport version arrived in 1973 with an engine that had 8.6:1 compression, a redline of 5,800 RPM, a bore and stroke of 101.6 x 88.9 mm, and developed 360 horsepower. It was paired solely to a ZF five-speed transmission.

The engine from General Motors was available with a four-speed manual and a four-speed automatic transmission sourced from General Motors. Later, a five-speed unit from ZF Friedrichshafen became available. A Ford-sourced automatic transmission was offered, while the manual transmission remained unchanged.

Iso produced approximately 125 cars with the Chevy V8 before G.M. demanded that they be paid in advance for the engines. That is when Iso began using Ford's Cleveland V8 engine.

Interior
The well-equipped Iso Lele had leather upholstery, plush carpeting, air conditioning, and electric windows as standard equipment. Behind the Nardi steering wheel were a large speedometer and tachometer resting below four additional round gauges of an ammeter, fuel gauge and water and oil temperature gauges.

Production
Iso produced 112 examples of the Lele with a 300 horsepower Chevrolet engine, 13 with a 350 HP Chevy V8, and 135 of the Lele IR6 equipped with the 325 hp Ford engine. A total of 20 were Lele IR6 Sport powered by a 360 hp Ford engine, including 3 Marlboro replicas. Two examples of the Lele IR6 Marlboro were constructed with the 360 hp Ford V8.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2023