With Monterey Car Week Beginning on Monday, It Is Timely That a Rare 1970 Iso Grifo Targa is Featured on My Car Quest
Monte Sereno, California (PRWEB) August 12, 2013 -- With the collector car world getting ready for the world famous Monterey Car Week which includes some of the top classic car auctions in the world, it is notable that an extremely rare Iso Grifo Targa is now for sale on the popular classic car blog, My Car Quest.
The Iso Grifo provides a ticket to an exclusive club – with only 413 total examples produced and only 13 of those being series 1 Targas - the Iso Grifo Targa is always a rare car at any classic car event.
This Iso Grifo Targa is for sale – a 1970 model that has been owned by the same owner for the last 21 years. Iso Grifo Targas almost never come up for sale and there may not be another one for sale for years to come.
About the Iso Grifo
The owner of Iso, Renzo Rivolta, started making scooters and motorcycles after WWII. He later developed the Iso Isetta, which was made famous by BMW when BMW licensed the design from Iso and proceeded to sell nearly 200,000 Isettas benefiting Iso as well as BMW. This arrangement allowed Iso to develop a grand touring car, the Iso Rivolta GT.
The Iso Grifo A3/L was based on a shortened Iso Rivolta GT chassis and was introduced at the 1963 show in Turin. The “L” stands for lusso, or luxury. Like the Iso Rivolta GT the Grifo is powered by the Chevrolet Corvette 327 cubic inch displacement V8 engine. The Grifo is a beautiful, timeless handmade design that still looks fresh and modern today, styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Bertone. The motoring press loved the Grifo. The Grifo was the fastest production car one could buy in 1966.
In 1968 Piero Rivolta, who took over Iso after his father’s death in 1966, decided to produce a more powerful Iso Grifo and installed a Corvette 427 cid (7 liter) engine into a Grifo. The engine did not fit in a compartment intended for the 327 cid, so Iso designed a different type of hood scoop to accommodate the larger engine. It is probably the most unusual engine hood scoop ever made.
The Iso Grifo series two, introduced in 1970, was basically the same car as the series one Grifo with the headlights partially covered.
In 1972, Iso started using the Ford 351 cid Cleveland engine and these Grifo IR8 models can be recognized by a taller hood scoop.
There were thirteen series 1 Grifo Targas made and four series 2 Grifo Targas made, the Targa is the rarest form of the Grifo.
Iso went out of business in 1974 due mainly to the oil crisis of the early 1970s.
About My Car Quest
Mike Gulett is the publisher and writer of the popular classic car blog, My Car Quest, where he writes about classic cars, race cars, other cars that interest him and the people who made or drove those cars.
He has published a few books about classic cars, the latest being “Twenty-Five Affordable Classic Cars”. He is also a car collector and writes from the perspective of a collector and an enthusiast.
Contact: Mike Gulett Email: mike(at)mycarquest(dot)com; Mobile phone: 408-406-5439 Monte Sereno, California 95030 USA
Michael Gulett, Michael Gulett, 408-406-5439, [email protected]
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