The Cortile
  • Home
    • Media Registration
    • About
    • History >
      • Proiettore 2022
      • Proiettore 2021
      • Proiettore 2019
      • Proiettore 2018
      • Proiettore 2017
      • Proiettore 2016 >
        • Friday 2016
      • Proiettore 2015 >
        • Wednesday 2015
        • Thursday 2015
        • Friday 2015
      • Proiettore 2014
    • Contact
    • Event Rules
    • Trailer Parking
    • Staff info >
      • Volunteer Form
      • Set up & Staging
      • To Do
      • Receiving Tent
      • Reception Tent
      • Parking
      • Clubhouse
      • Westinghouse
      • Emergency
  • News
  • Cortile Cup
    • Judging
    • Definitions
    • Cortile Cup 2021
    • Cortile Cup 2017
    • Cortile Cup 2016
    • Cortile Cup 2015
    • Cortile Cup 2014
    • Cortile Cup 2013
    • Cortile Cup 2012
    • Cortile Cup 2011
    • Inception
  • Marques
    • Carrozzeria >
      • Bertone
      • Ghia
      • Pininfarina
      • Scaglietti
      • Vignale
      • Zagato
    • Abarth
    • Alfa Romeo
    • Bandini
    • Bizzarrini
    • Cisitalia
    • De Tomaso
    • Ferrari
    • Fiat
    • Innocenti
    • Iso Rivolta
    • Lamborghini
    • Lancia
    • Maserati
    • Moretti
    • Siata
    • Stanguellini
    • Taraschi
  • Sponsors
    • Ferrari of Philadelphia
    • Maserati of Pittsburgh
    • Pitt SAE Race Team
    • State Farm
    • Become a Sponsor
  • Events
    • Proiettore 2023
    • Saturday
    • Sunday

Proiettore Macchina 2018: The Veicoli of ISO Rivolta & Bizzarini

10/13/2017

2 Comments

 
In July of 2018 The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix will celebrate BMW as the Marque of the Year.  Up on the hill at the Cortile, we will be celebrating the family who created the car that saved BMW.  

Each year the Cortile selects a marque or model to highlight our annual event at the PVGP based upon factors such as historical significance, unique local interest, brand resurgence, etc.

The Macchina of Iso Rivolta Bizzarini have been selected as our 2018 Proiettore Macchina!

​The Rivolta family has been involved in scooters, motorcycles, sports cars, grand touring cars, as well as yachts and the automotive design house
Carrozzeria Zagato.

Picture
The Rivolta Family founded Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A, an automobile and motorcycle maker in Italy. The company was active from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. Iso are known for the iconic Isetta bubble car, later of BMW fame, in the 1950s, and for a number of powerful performance cars in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Picture
Iso was initially named 'Isothermos' and manufactured refrigeration units before World War II. The company was founded in Genoa in 1939, but was transferred to Bresso in 1942 by Renzo Rivolta.

The business was refounded as Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A. in 1953 to reflect the production of motorized transport. Renzo Rivolta died in 1966, and his son, Piero, took over as managing director at the young age of 25.

Together with engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, designer Giorgetto Giugiaro and chassis builder Bertone, Renzo Rivolta began developing permformance cars in the 1960's including the iconic Iso Grifo and which later led to the creation of the Bizzarini 5300 GT.
Today Piero Rivolta is active in land development, boat manufacturing, serious sailing, a world-respected chamber-music festival (La Musica), and a dozen other activities, including writing and publishing novels and books of poetry.  

From Refrigerators to  Scooter: The early years

During World War II manufacturing was tightly regulated after the Nazi takeover of Italy.  The Rivolta family converted the lower levels of a castle into a refrigerator factory and employed much of the local town under the auspices of it being a vineyard and winery.  It's a remarkable story in and of itself with false walls and Nazi searches and some rather harrowing experiences.  

After the Second World War, the company reopened its doors and, in 1948,  began to build motorcycles, scooters and motocarries - three-wheeled transport scooters/motorcycles.  Renzo Rivolta had recognized a unique opportunity and jumped in front of his competitors by making performance transportation a priority in the post-war economy.

New scooters  where introduced at a rampant pace with the 'Furetto' in 1948, the 'Isoscooter' in 1950, the 'Isocarro' in 1951', the 'Isosport' in 1953 and finally the 'Isomoto' in 1954. The last Iso motorcycle was presented as the Iso 500 in 1961. Isomotos were known as expensive, very durable and very well-built.  The twin piston engine developed at Iso had more power than the comparable Vespa and Lambretta models making the Iso's the performance choice in the post-war economy. 

The Birth of the Auto Scooter: The Isetta

As the economy began to expand in the early 1950's consumers in Italy wanted to travel to places without getting  soaking wet on the back of a scooter and once again sitting down comfortably  inside a car.
The Isetta was developed with a scooter engine and similar drivetrain components.  Even though it was a small car, the design permitted driver and passenger to enter the car standing up.  

Occupants didn't need to squeeze, hunched down, into the cockpit, because the entire front of the car is the door.  

The short length of the car also eliminated the need to parallel park.  You could pull straight up to the curb, open the  single front door, and step right onto the sidewalk.

Figures vary, but there where only about 600 - 800 Iso Isetta's produced under the Iso name.  Less than 100 are believed to exist in the world today.  
Picture
The Isetta caused a sensation when it was introduced to the motoring press in Turin in November 1953. However, soon after the Isetta was introduced, Fiat introduced the Fiat 500, at a similar price point, and it could seat four people.  Rivolta and the team at Iso had gambled the company's  success on the Isetta's, but soon they where  sitting in the lot at the Bresso factory, unsold.  

In 1947, BMW was granted permission to resume motorcycle production. Its first post-war motorcycle was released in 1948. In 1952 BMW resumed production of automobiles, with the BMW 501 large sedan. Unfortunately consumers did not want or could not afford large sedans and BMW was facing some some financial woes that could mean the end to the company as well.  

​They approached Rivolta and proposed buy-in the entire assembly line and moving it to Germany under license.  The assembly line was moved from Bresso to Munich, the engine was upgrade to 250cc and the braking system improved.  Over 160,000 Isetta's where produced and the royalties that Rivolta received on each sale funded the next development which would place the name ISO in the annuls of Italian motoring legend. Many credit the Isetta with keeping the BMW out of bankruptcy through 1959 -1960.

​The Rivolta -Bizzarrini relationship: Birth of the Iso Grifo

Picture
Meanwhile, back in the Bresso factory in Italy, Rivolta was on something intended to compete with Ferrari and Maserati GTs.  First launched  was the  Iso Rivolta IR 300 that premiered at the Torino Show in 1962. The IR 300 was an elegant 2 + 2 Coupé with well-balanced technical components and outstanding driving performance. It was powered by a 5.4 L Chevrolet V8 Small-Block engine and transmission that both came from General Motors in Detroit.   The deDion suspension and four-wheel disc braking system came from the large Jaguars of the time. 

Iso's most iconic automobile, however,  was the Grifo.  The Iso Grifo was a limited production grand tourer manufactured between 1965 and 1974. It also utilized a series of American power trains and components supplied by Chevrolet and Ford to ensure performance and maximize reliability.

Styling was done by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone.  The mechanicals were attributed to Giotto Bizzarrini, but the reality was that much of the mechanicals where in done in-house at Rivolta.  Rivolta and Bizzarini needed each other for business reasons: Rivolta needed to attach the Bizzarini reputation to the performance perception of the new vehicle to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Maserati.  The high performance scooters and the cute, spunky Isetta's just didn't quite convey the performance of the racing pedigrees of the other Italian sports car marques.

Who was Giotto Bizzarrini
Bizzarini started his career at Alfa Romeo in 1954  and in 1957 he moved over to Ferrari, eventually becoming controller of experimental, Sports and GT car development. He worked at Ferrari as a developer, designer, test driver, and chief engineer for five years. His developments there included the Ferrari 250 TR, the Ferrari 250 GT SWB (Short Wheelbase Berlinetta, aka "Berlinetta Passo Corto"), and the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO.  Bizzarrini was fired by Ferrari during the "Palace Revolt" of 1961.

Bizzarini became part of Automobili Turismo e Sport, ATS, a company started by the ex-Ferrari engineers to build a Formula 1 single seater and a GT sport car, the A.T.S. Serenissima. One of ATS's financial backers, Count Giovanni Volpi, hired Bizzarrini to upgrade a Ferrari 250 GT SWB, to GTO specifications. This resulted in the "Ferrari 250 GT SWB Drogo" also known as the "Breadvan" which became quite famous in it's own right. But, that, as they say is another story...

Bizzarrini's engineering company, Societa Autostar, was commissioned to design a V-12 engine for a GT car to be built by another dissatisfied Ferrari customer, Ferruccio Lamborghini. Lamborghini considered the resulting engine to be too highly strung, and ordered that it be detuned.

As you can see, Bizzarini was involved in some pretty significant sports cars, but, although he had developed quite a reputation, by the time he was asked to join forces with Rivolta,  he lacked the bankroll to support his racing habit.

Rivolta had become financially stable as a result of the BMW license of the Isetta but needed Bizzarrini's reputation to add to the vehicle they had already almost fully developed in-house.  The two joined forces. It was a short lived relationship and neither of the high strung alfa males got along with the other.   But, in that brief period, they created the Iso Rivolta GT,  and the Iso Grifo A3L and A3C. 

​THE ISO GRIFO and Racing

The Iso Grifo A3L was a monstrous idea for a super coupé, the L coming from Lusso. The result of the brilliant Giugiaro and Bizzarrini working together, it was based on a shortened Iso Rivolta GT chassis and was debuted at the 1963 Turin Auto show.

The Grifo epitomised the 1960s Italian style with its handsome low and wide handmade bodywork. It was the fastest production car tested by Autocar Magazine in 1966 with a top speed of 160 mph. Later versions of the Grifo were powered by a big block Chevrolet Corvette 435 bhp engine. These 90 handbuilt units are distinguishable by the raised "pagoda style" scoop bonnet. Some of these Iso Grifo 7 Litri units were rebuilt later with even bigger engines.
The idea of Bizzarrini was to use the 3AL cars for competition.

​The competition versions of the Grifo were named Iso Grifo A3C, C for Competizione or Corsa. A new lightweight riveted aluminium body was designed and built by Piero Drogo.
Iso Grifo 7 Litri Hood Pagoda
It was an aggressively designed machine, oriented to endurance races. It used normal ISO underpinnings but the engine was moved further back in the chassis frame than the Grifo A3L, protruding well into the driver's cabin, fitted with hot cams and fed by four big Weber carburettors, giving more than 400 bhp.

Around 29 A3C sport cars were built under the ISO name. Five of these 29 cars were bodied in plastic/fiberglass by Piero Drogo at Carrozzeria Sports Cars in Modena.

A3Cs were widely raced. Some cars entered the 1964 and 1965 Le Mans 24 hour, 1965 Nürburgring 1000 and 1965 Sebring. It achieved a Le Mans class win in both years and a 9th overall in 1965 with no factory support. A3Cs were one of the fastest cars on Le Mans' Mulsanne Straight in both years.

 The Future: IsoRivolta Vision Gran Turismo by Zagato

IsoRivolta Gran Turismo by Zagato
For the gamer's out there who have competed on Sony’s "Gran Turismo Sport", you may recognize the IsoRivolta Gran Turismo that showed up in reality at the Tokyo Motor Show last month.  That "pagoda style" scoop bonnet that  features the iconic Rivolta Grifo, is a nice throwback to the Iso Grifo 7 Litri.

Zagato announced that it will build between three and five of them for actual customers.

“The IsoRivolta Vision Gran Turismo was created to drive in the virtual-reality world, a world created by Gran Turismo. There is no mass in the virtual-reality world, as it remains a place that exists only in our imagination... Like a Mobius strip, the PlayStation game has allowed ourselves to be transported from reality and thrust into a world of pure fantasy, and then back again. The body style of the IsoRivolta Vision contradicts the sense of oneness that has evolved over the past hundred years of automotive design... Our next wish is that this car, which was born in Gran Turismo, will take to the road in real life and one day grow larger in your rear view mirror, eventually passing you at high speed. When this happens, you will feel the limits of your imagination being severely tested, blurring reality.”
    ~Norihiko Harada, VP of Design at Zagato
2 Comments
MARC HALLER
11/22/2017 12:42:43

At the top of the page
"In July of 2018 The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix will celebrate BWM as the Marque of the Year. Up on the hill at the Cortile, we will be celebrating the family who created the car that saved BMW. "
Is bWm just a typo, or is it an early incarnation of bMw which I'm unfamiliar with?

Reply
Glen P link
12/8/2020 00:15:35

Thank you for writinng this

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Atribution

    This is a compilation of articles from a variety of sources and contributors.  Attrition and sources are always provided at the top and/or the bottom of the posting.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    August 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    June 2019
    January 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    July 2013
    June 2013
    January 2013
    September 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    August 2011

    Categories

    All
    250-gt-lusso
    50-anni-di-passione-tour
    Alex Wakefield
    Alfa Romeo
    Alfa Romeo Giulia
    Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce
    Alpine
    Amelia Island
    American Lancia Club
    Amy Burns
    Artist
    Auriana
    Baierl Fiat
    Bandini
    Bernard Martin
    Bertone
    Bizzarrini
    Bobby Rahal
    Bugatti
    Cavallino Rampante
    Citroën
    Concorso Italiano
    Convention
    Cortile
    Cortile Cup
    Cortile Della Corsa
    David Adams
    Derham-custom-body
    De Tomaso
    Dwight Knowlton
    Ferrari
    Ferrari-308-gtb
    Ferrari-328-gts
    Ferrari Club America
    Ferrari-market-letter
    Ferrari Of Philadelphia
    Fiat
    Fiat-club-america
    Fiat-freakout
    Formula One
    Ghia
    Giorgetto Giugiaro
    Greenbrier Concours
    Hahn-and-vorbach
    Huracana110f686eb
    IndyCar
    Innocenti
    Innocenti Mini
    Insurance
    Iso Autoveicoli
    Iso Rivolta
    Ivan Ruiz
    Jason Moka
    Jeff Mahl
    John Campion
    John Walko
    Juan Manual Fangio
    Kate Gundlach
    Lamborghini
    Lancia
    Lancia 037 Rally Evo
    Lancia 037 Rally Evo Group B
    Lancia Beta Montecarlo
    Lancia Delta HF Integrale 8V
    Lancia Delta S4
    Lancia Flaminia Gtl
    Lancia LC1
    Lancia LC1 Group VI
    Lancia LC2
    Lancia LC2 Group C
    Lancia Stratos HF Works
    Lanica Fulvia 1600 HF
    Little Red Racing Car
    Luigi Chinetti
    Marque Of The Year
    Maserati
    Maserati-300o-gt-tc
    Maserati-century
    Maserati-of-pittsburgh
    Mazza Winery
    Miura
    Monterey Historic
    Monterey-motorsports
    Muira
    NART
    N.A.R.T. - North American Racing Team
    New York To Paris
    Peugeot
    Pitt FSAE
    Pitt Race
    PoloStorico
    Proiettore Macchina
    PVGP
    Pvgp Racing
    Ralph Gilles
    Renault
    Renzo Rivolta
    Restoration
    Rob Straw R7 Photography
    Ron Lewis Alfa Romeo
    Sergio Marchionne
    Sergio-pininfarina
    Sergio-scaglietti
    Siata
    Sponsor
    Stanguellini
    State Farm
    Stephan-winkelmann
    Test Drive
    Through The Gears
    Tom Bungay
    Tom Frasca
    Tom Tjaarda
    Vintage Racing
    Walt Spak
    Wayne Long
    Westinghouse Memorial
    Wine On Nine

    RSS Feed

Picture
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Association is a federally registered 501c (3) non-profit organization with a mission to hold a world-class vintage automotive race event for charity. 

Since 1983 this volunteer-driven event has raised over $6 million to benefit autistic and developmentally disabled individuals through the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Valley School. The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix remains North America's largest vintage race event, the only one run on city streets, and the 8th largest car show in the World.

© 2023 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. 
All Rights Reserved.

Created by Rapid Production Marketing
  • Home
    • Media Registration
    • About
    • History >
      • Proiettore 2022
      • Proiettore 2021
      • Proiettore 2019
      • Proiettore 2018
      • Proiettore 2017
      • Proiettore 2016 >
        • Friday 2016
      • Proiettore 2015 >
        • Wednesday 2015
        • Thursday 2015
        • Friday 2015
      • Proiettore 2014
    • Contact
    • Event Rules
    • Trailer Parking
    • Staff info >
      • Volunteer Form
      • Set up & Staging
      • To Do
      • Receiving Tent
      • Reception Tent
      • Parking
      • Clubhouse
      • Westinghouse
      • Emergency
  • News
  • Cortile Cup
    • Judging
    • Definitions
    • Cortile Cup 2021
    • Cortile Cup 2017
    • Cortile Cup 2016
    • Cortile Cup 2015
    • Cortile Cup 2014
    • Cortile Cup 2013
    • Cortile Cup 2012
    • Cortile Cup 2011
    • Inception
  • Marques
    • Carrozzeria >
      • Bertone
      • Ghia
      • Pininfarina
      • Scaglietti
      • Vignale
      • Zagato
    • Abarth
    • Alfa Romeo
    • Bandini
    • Bizzarrini
    • Cisitalia
    • De Tomaso
    • Ferrari
    • Fiat
    • Innocenti
    • Iso Rivolta
    • Lamborghini
    • Lancia
    • Maserati
    • Moretti
    • Siata
    • Stanguellini
    • Taraschi
  • Sponsors
    • Ferrari of Philadelphia
    • Maserati of Pittsburgh
    • Pitt SAE Race Team
    • State Farm
    • Become a Sponsor
  • Events
    • Proiettore 2023
    • Saturday
    • Sunday