Iso Grifo (1965 to 1974)

The Iso Grifo was a series of sports cars introduced in 1965. The Grifo was developed by famed engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, the man behind the Ferrari 250 GTO, in order to give Iso a follow-up to the Iso Rivolta. These cars were intended to compete with Europe's most established sports car manufacturers, matching luxury and style with Chevrolet and Ford V8 muscle. After the creation of the prototype, Iso and Bizzarrini differed in how they viewed the model, with Iso wanting to create a powerful and luxurious grand tourer, while Bizzarrini saw great racing potential in his creation, and wanted the Grifo to be a competition car. This vision came to fruition with the Grifo AC/3, a limited production powerhouse that Bizzarrini called his "improved GTO." Only 22 examples of the AC/3 were built before Iso and Bizzarrini parted ways, and the company proceeded with their vision of the Grifo. These grand tourers featured styling by Giorgetto Guigiaro and were built in two series: Series I (1965-1970) and Series II (1970-1975). Only 413 examples (not including AC/3) of these exclusive cars were built before Iso went bankrupt in 1974.