Iso Grifo 90

In the late 80s, Piero Rivolta thought the time was right to introduce the brand back into the market with a new GT. He contacted Dallara to develop its chassis and powertrain and Marcello Gandini to design its outline, which clearly showed all the styling cues of the 90s. The model was named Iso Grifo 90. The prototype was presented to the press in 1991 and it was meant to be produced in a limited series starting from 1994. What was actually presented, though, was only a wooden model, with no engine and locked doors. Unfortunately, the enterprise stopped and the car hasn’t seen the light until, in 2007, multi-material producer “Mako Shark” found the wooden model and decided to produce the car. Federico Bonomelli, Mako Shark’s owner, was already an Iso Rivolta collector. Together with his brother, he redesigned the car and got approval from Piero Rivolta to produce 12 new Iso Grifo 90.

The new prototype was based on a C5 Z06 Corvette, with a V8 ZR1 aluminum monobloc engine, modified by Callaway, that produced 490hp. The engine had a 6-speed manual transmission. The body was built with multi-material, so the weight is only 1200Kg. It featured a custom braking system by Brembo, locking differential and was capable of hitting 300 km/h and the 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds. The prototype was finished in 2010. In the meantime, though, the economic crisis hit the collectors and the initial enthusiasm on the project had faded, so Federico Bonomelli decided not to build the other 12 cars. The Iso Grifo 90 is the protagonist of “The Iso Rivolta Chronicles” Season Finale. Federico Bonomelli and his son Roberto narrate their incredible story of passion and tough work, that eventually produced this unique and amazing car. The last Iso Rivolta.

You can see the episode at this link

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Fotos und Text: “The Iso Rivolta Chronicles”