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Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Rare, Exceptional Iso Grifo A3/C
Created by the acclaimed Giotto Bizzarrini in 1963, the extremely low-profile sports coupe thrilled both on the road and in competition.
The penultimate Iso Grifo 23/C, chassis No. B 0222, was the most successful of all Grifo competition cars. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)
Giotto Bizzarrini incorporated all the lessons learned while developing the Ferrari 250 GTO when he created the spectacular Iso Grifo A3/C late in 1963.
The very low machine was powered by a Chevrolet V8, and only around two dozen were built before Bizzarrini went his separated way, resulting in a change of model name to Bizzarrini 5300 GT.
Even rarer were the competition cars, but over the years we have captured three important examples including the prototype and the 1965 Le Mans class winner. This roaring trio is pictured in this 24-shot gallery.
Bizzarrini was hired by Ferrari in 1957 because of his test-driving and engineering skills. Here he first fine-tuned existing models and eventually was given the responsibility of developing a new line of GT racers.
He was busily developing the 250 GTO when he along with a number of other key people left the company in the infamous “palace revolution” of 1961. Together, the defectors formed ATS to rival Ferrari in both sports-car and single-seater racing. But due to conflicting opinions, Bizzarrini quickly left the new manufacturer.
He then worked as a consultant for Count Volpi, for whom he created the “Breadvan” Ferrari, and for Feruccio Lamborghini, for whom he designed the V12 engine that would power Lamborghini sports cars for decades to come.
In 1962, he teamed up with Renzo Rivolta, who was turning his Iso company into a manufacturer of sports cars. Bizzarrini's first job was to help develop a sophisticated platform chassis for the Iso Rivolta 2+2 coupe. He was then commissioned to turn the Iso Grifo A3/L two-seater into a race-winning machine, which was most certainly more up his alley.
Pretty much independent from Iso, he conceived the exceptionally low A3/C that was an Iso Grifo in name only. Both cars shared a shortened Rivolta platform chassis and the double-wishbone front suspension and DeDion axle. Comparing the finished products, it was hard to imagine both cars shared the same underpinnings.
One of Bizzarrini's priorities had always been to mount the engine as far back in the chassis for a good weight balance, and with the A3/C he took it one step further; the engine protruded so far into the cabin that the distributors had to be accessed through small latches in the dashboard.
The engine itself was a Corvette-derived V8 engine, which in competition spec produced an impressive 405 horsepower. Bizzarrini worked in close cooperation with Bertone's Giorgietto Giugiaro to sculpt the A3/C's aluminum skin.
Being a racing car, the main priority was to create as little frontal area as possible, but the result was nevertheless quite pleasing to the eye. Drogo constructed the body for Bizzarrini.
The two Grifos debuted at the 1963 Turin Auto Show and they were literally the talk of the show. The prototype racing car was sold then and there, and Bizzarrini also received an order from American Ed Hugus, who wanted to race a Grifo A3/C in the upcoming Sebring 12 Hours race.
The car still bore the Iso badge, but they were built by Bizzarrini's men in his own workshop. Alongside the racing car, a road-going version of the A3/C was also produced.
The very low machine was powered by a Chevrolet V8, and only around two dozen were built before Bizzarrini went his separated way, resulting in a change of model name to Bizzarrini 5300 GT.
Even rarer were the competition cars, but over the years we have captured three important examples including the prototype and the 1965 Le Mans class winner. This roaring trio is pictured in this 24-shot gallery.
Bizzarrini was hired by Ferrari in 1957 because of his test-driving and engineering skills. Here he first fine-tuned existing models and eventually was given the responsibility of developing a new line of GT racers.
He was busily developing the 250 GTO when he along with a number of other key people left the company in the infamous “palace revolution” of 1961. Together, the defectors formed ATS to rival Ferrari in both sports-car and single-seater racing. But due to conflicting opinions, Bizzarrini quickly left the new manufacturer.
He then worked as a consultant for Count Volpi, for whom he created the “Breadvan” Ferrari, and for Feruccio Lamborghini, for whom he designed the V12 engine that would power Lamborghini sports cars for decades to come.
In 1962, he teamed up with Renzo Rivolta, who was turning his Iso company into a manufacturer of sports cars. Bizzarrini's first job was to help develop a sophisticated platform chassis for the Iso Rivolta 2+2 coupe. He was then commissioned to turn the Iso Grifo A3/L two-seater into a race-winning machine, which was most certainly more up his alley.
Pretty much independent from Iso, he conceived the exceptionally low A3/C that was an Iso Grifo in name only. Both cars shared a shortened Rivolta platform chassis and the double-wishbone front suspension and DeDion axle. Comparing the finished products, it was hard to imagine both cars shared the same underpinnings.
One of Bizzarrini's priorities had always been to mount the engine as far back in the chassis for a good weight balance, and with the A3/C he took it one step further; the engine protruded so far into the cabin that the distributors had to be accessed through small latches in the dashboard.
The engine itself was a Corvette-derived V8 engine, which in competition spec produced an impressive 405 horsepower. Bizzarrini worked in close cooperation with Bertone's Giorgietto Giugiaro to sculpt the A3/C's aluminum skin.
Being a racing car, the main priority was to create as little frontal area as possible, but the result was nevertheless quite pleasing to the eye. Drogo constructed the body for Bizzarrini.
The two Grifos debuted at the 1963 Turin Auto Show and they were literally the talk of the show. The prototype racing car was sold then and there, and Bizzarrini also received an order from American Ed Hugus, who wanted to race a Grifo A3/C in the upcoming Sebring 12 Hours race.
The car still bore the Iso badge, but they were built by Bizzarrini's men in his own workshop. Alongside the racing car, a road-going version of the A3/C was also produced.
Lamborghini 50th Anniversary Parade
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