Strale Daytona What’s In A Name? – A Custom Exotic Italian Classic Car – Part 3

by Mike –

This is Part 3 of A Custom Exotic Italian Classic Car – Part 1 is here;

A Custom Exotic Italian Classic Car – Part 2 is here.

Strale Daytona What’s In A Name? by Jack Koobs de Hartog … Continued

So, what “Daytona’s” do we know of now?

1. The, obviously unpainted, car featured in the August 1966 R&T “Nembo II” article. This one had a fixed roof and a slowly lowering rear roof line. Long, over the edge, rear boot lid. The tops of the rear wheel arches are almost flat.

1a. The same car, painted green now, was featured in the September 1966 Auto Italiana “Daytona” article.

2. The “Strale Daytona” featured in 1967 in a Japanese car magazine. Chrysler engine. Fixed roof, shorter and steeper rear roof line. Much more chrome used. Flat rear wheel well arches.

3. The “1965 (the Strale was launched in 1966!!!) Iso Rivolta Daytona” as auctioned in Monaco (Lot 77) by Coys/Barret Jackson May 27, 2000. It was sold for GBP 80,229.

This car, chassis IR 330039, had a lift off targa roof, small rear boot lid and round rear wheel well edges. Non-original dash board. It was bought by Mr. Binney and race prepared by Lanzante Engineering in the UK. This car was previously owned and intensively raced by Mr. Panizza from Italy; in 1997 he even won the Italian Hill Climb Championship with it!

3a. In June 2003 Coys, offered it again from their showroom in London “1965 Iso Rivolta Daytona chassis IR 330039” but now with a complete changed body. Now it even had a fixed roof. Asking price was GBP 195,000.

3b. Mr. Richard Mattei, of Seattle, Washington, bought this car and again a lot was changed on the body and interior. It even got a completely new dash board and new Corvette engine with the beautiful four double Webers.

4. May 20th 2006 Coys again was planning to auction (Lot 242) a “1967 Iso Daytona Nembo with Belgian registration papers” with detachable roof and round rear wheel well edges. Chassis number is 420587 (587 30.11.66 Italy 300 ? 2.88 Camps. c/).

I asked Coys for more info on the car, which they promised but never sent. After the auction I got the message the car was unsold. In 2007 it was sold to Bill Cotter, USA.

 
 
 
 

5. At the moment (2006) a new car is under construction in Italy.

Conclusion

Carlo Bernasconi’s idea to build the Strale was good. A pity that it was about forty years early. In the 21st century he obviously could have made money with it.
Curious: It was never intended to market this car with a Chevy 327 engine. Curious that existing cars have that engine.

Comment please – as ever this small article leaves a lot to guess and maybe you have additional information, corrections or questions. If so, please contact me at my email address below.

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Jack Koobs de Hartog is the author of several books about Bizzarrini cars and can be reached by email at: koobsdehartog@skynet.be.

This article was originally published in the Winter 2006/2007 issue of the Griffon, the magazine of the Iso & Bizzarrini Owner’s Club.

Let us know what you think in the Comments.