1973 ISO Lele

Before Iso produced cars, it was known as Isothermos and it manufactured refrigeration units. The company was founded in Genoa in 1939, later transferred to Bresso in 1942 by Renzo Rivolta. In 1953, the business was re-founded as Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A. and focused on the lucrative automotive market. After Renzo Rivola passed away in 1966, his son, Piero, became managing director. The company would remain in business until 1974.

The Iso Lele, also known as the Iso Rivolta Lele, was built during those final years of the company's existence. Introduced at the 1969 New York International Auto Show, production lasted from 1969 to 1974, with 285 examples being produced. The Lele was a 2+2 seater that wore a design by Marcello Gandini of Bertone. The V8 engine was shared with its siblings, the Grifo and Fidia, and had a 5,354cc displacement and offered 300 horsepower with the automatic transmission and 350 hp with the manual gearbox. Initially, Iso used General Motors Muncie wide-ratio 4-speed manual gearboxes, but later switched to a ZF 5-speed unit. Engine capacity increased to 5,736cc in 1970. In 1972, General Motors changed its agreement with Iso, requiring them to pay in advance for the engines. So Iso switched to Ford's Cleveland V8 powerplants. Additionally, Ford automatic transmissions were used, while the manual continued to be a 5-speed unit.

The Iso Lele was named after Renzo Rivolta's wife and fulfilled the promise to build a full-line car company.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2019