The one-of-a-kind Iso Rivolta GT Prototype has sold on My Car Quest.
by Mike –
In 1962 Iso Rivolta made their first Grand Touring (GT) car – and what a car it was, and still is – the Iso Rivolta GT. With styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Bertone, Iso made a comfortable four seater that handled like a sports car. It is powered by a Chevrolet Corvette 327 cid engine and has disc brakes on all four wheels with the rear being in-board, like a race car.
The motoring press loved this car and what’s not to love? Italian styling and American power – a great combination. There were 799 Iso Rivolta GTs produced between 1962 and 1970. There were two prototypes and this is the only prototype that has survived.
1962 Iso Rivolta Prototype – For Sale
The special Iso Rivolta for sale here is chassis No. 002 – the oldest Iso GT car in existence and the only Iso Rivolta Prototype to have survived.
This Iso Rivolta Prototype No. 002 has not been shown anywhere and will be welcome in any Concours where it will be shown for the first time by the new owner.
It is truly a one-of-a-kind and has several features different than the production cars including being longer. You can see in the photo below how much longer the Prototype (on the bottom) is than the production example. The reason for this is that Renzo Rivolta, the president and owner of Iso, could not get into the back seat of the Prototype with his hat on. With a change in the slope of the rear window this problem was solved.
The Iso Rivolta GT allows plenty of headroom in the front and back seat for tall adults – a person a little over six feet (183 cm) tall would be comfortable. This Iso Rivolta Prototype represents the original design intention of the brilliant Giorgetto Giugiaro and is the only surviving Iso Rivolta GT that does so. It is art in pure form.
Comparing the Prototype to a production Iso Rivolta
1962 Iso Rivolta Prototype No. 002
Make: Iso
Model: Rivolta GT Prototype
Year: 1962
Chassis number: 002
Exterior: Blue
Interior: Cognac
Original color combination
Engine: Corvette 327 cid
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Odometer: Less than 20,000 km
Number made: 2
Built by Bertone
Turin Show Car in 1962
A test drive in this Prototype was reported in the German magazine Auto Motor Sport in 1963
It has been completely restored to the original specifications by the marque expert Roberto Negri and is FIVA registered
The combination of the vision of Renzo Rivolta, the engineering expertise of several key Iso employees like Pierluigi Raggi, the technical contributions of Giotto Bizzarrini (the engineer in charge of the development of the Ferrari 250 GTO) and the brilliant styling of Giorgetto Giugiaro of Bertone resulted in one of the most beloved Italian GT cars from the 1960s.
This is a very rare opportunity to own a piece of automotive history – Giugiaro design (Bertone), Bizzarrini engineering and vision by Renzo Rivolta.
Note the air vents on the top of the rear fenders just above the fuel filler lid
The air vents on the top of each rear fender near the trunk lid opening, seen in the photo above, were placed there to help dissipate heat from the rear in-board disc brakes which had been a problem on Prototype No. 001. These vents were used only on Prototype No. 002. The production models had air funnels placed under the car in front of the in-board brakes to force air flow over the brakes for cooling.
Iso Rivolta GT No. 002 at the Monza track with Renzo Rivolta – photo from “Iso Rivolta, The Men The Machines” by Winston Goodfellow
The Iso Rivolta GT was introduced to the Italian press on October 11, 1962 at the Monza race track. Prototype No. 002 is pictured above at that event with Renzo Rivolta standing by the driver’s door.
More photos are in the slide shows below
The restoration
Giugiaro Iso Rivolta GT Art
Sales Brochures For The Production Iso Rivolta GT
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WOW!
Honestly, I think My Car Quest is the only place where you can find a car like this.
I had #53.
Correction. I had # 330054. Bought it in 1970, sold it in 1971.
Mike – I just read this great article again. Nice piece of obscure history.
Thank you.