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title: Iso · HICONIUM
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> On this page: [On the block · Monterey Car Week 2026](#on-the-block--monterey-car-week-2026) · [Italian coachwork and American V8s — the historical Iso, not a continuous modern marque.](#italian-coachwork-and-american-v8s--the-historical-iso-not-a-continuous-modern-marque) · [A bloodline, not a list.](#a-bloodline-not-a-list) · [American V8 power](#american-v8-power) · [Industrialised GT construction](#industrialised-gt-construction)

![Iso — manufacturer stage](https://hiconium.dev/_derived/images/marques/stage/iso.jpg.w1920.q75.webp)

[Manufacturers  /  Iso](https://hiconium.dev/manufacturers)

# Iso

Italy · est. 1939

Italian coachwork and American V8s — the historical Iso, not a continuous modern marque.

Iso moved from the Isetta to Bertone- and Ghia-bodied GTs powered by American V8s; the original company ended in 1974, while the later Zagato GTZ project is separate.

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| On the block | 1 lots |
| Top value | — |
| Period | 1939– |

[Explore models](https://hiconium.dev/manufacturers/iso#essential) [Manufacturer profile](https://hiconium.dev/manufacturers/iso#house-profile)

![Iso — manufacturer stage](https://hiconium.dev/_derived/images/marques/stage/iso.jpg.w1920.q75.webp)

Forthcoming lots

## On the block · Monterey Car Week 2026

1 forthcoming lot · Monterey 2026

The house

## Italian coachwork and American V8s — the historical Iso, not a continuous modern marque.

The later ISO Rivolta history dates Renzo Rivolta's purchase of the refrigerator-and-heater maker Isothermos to 1939. After the war, Iso built scooters, motorcycles and small vehicles before developing the front-opening Isetta; the current ISO site credits Ermenegildo Preti for that design. BMW licensed the Isetta, re-engineered it and built 161,728 BMW Isettas between 1955 and 1962.

Iso entered the GT market in 1962 with the Rivolta IR 300, a four-seat coupé combining a platform chassis, Bertone bodywork and a Chevrolet Corvette 327 V8. The Grifo prototype appeared at Turin in 1963 and production ran from 1965 to 1974. At Le Mans in 1964 an A3/C finished fourteenth overall; in 1965 another finished ninth overall and first in the Prototype over-5,000cc class.

After Renzo Rivolta died in August 1966, his son Piero led the company. The four-door S4, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro for Ghia, debuted in 1967 and became the Fidia after revision; Hagerty records 192 Fidias built between 1968 and 1974. Bertone's Marcello Gandini designed the Lele, of which Classic & Sports Car records about 285 built from 1970 to 1974. Ford 351 Cleveland V8s followed Chevrolet power after GM's commercial terms became untenable, and the original company closed in 1974.

A later Zagato-led project used the Iso Rivolta name for the GTZ, a carbon-fibre-bodied tribute with a Corvette-sourced supercharged 6.2-litre V8. Zagato delivered the first of a nineteen-car series in October 2020. It was a later revival of the name, not continuation of the original Iso company.

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Isothermos acquisition | 1939 |
|  | The current ISO history dates Renzo Rivolta's purchase to 1939; it does not substantiate the draft's Bresso-move chronology. |

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| BMW Isetta production | 161,728 cars, 1955–62 |
|  | This is BMW production under licence, not total production of all Isetta makers. |

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| IR 300 sales | 797 sold by 1970 |
|  | Hagerty's figure is sales, not an audited completed-chassis count. |

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Grifo production | 413 cars, 1965–74 |
|  | A specialist source reports 330 Series I and 83 Series II cars; this is a built-car count, not a survival figure. |

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Fate | Closed in 1974 |
|  | No opened source substantiates a precise final day or closure of the original Bresso works. |

Selected milestones

### A bloodline, not a list.

1. 1939

  Isothermos

  The current ISO history dates Renzo Rivolta's purchase of the refrigerator-and-heater maker Isothermos to 1939.
2. 1952–62

  Isetta and BMW licence

  Iso's Isetta prototype appeared in 1952. BMW signed a licence agreement, began production in 1955 and built 161,728 BMW Isettas by 1962.
3. 1962

  IR 300

  The four-seat IR 300 paired Bertone bodywork with a Chevrolet Corvette V8. Hagerty records 797 cars sold by the end of production in 1970.
4. 1963–65

  Grifo and A3/C

  The Grifo prototype appeared at Turin in 1963 and production began in 1965. The A3/C finished fourteenth overall at Le Mans in 1964, then ninth overall and first in the Prototype over-5,000cc class in 1965.
5. 1967–74

  S4/Fidia and Lele

  Giugiaro's four-door S4 debuted at Frankfurt in 1967 and was later renamed Fidia; Gandini's Bertone-designed Lele followed.
6. 1974

  The original company closes

  The last Isos were built in 1974. This marks the end of the historical manufacturer, not the later GTZ project.
7. 2020

  GTZ first delivery

  Zagato delivered the first of a nineteen-car Iso Rivolta GTZ series, describing it as a tribute to the marque's rebirth.

What defines Iso

### American V8 power

The IR 300 used Chevrolet Corvette V8 power. Later cars received Ford 351 Cleveland V8s after General Motors' commercial terms proved difficult for Iso.

### Industrialised GT construction

For the Rivolta, Iso supplied the platform chassis to Bertone, which returned painted and trimmed coupé bodies for final engine and drivetrain installation at Bresso.