The 1971 Iso Grifo MkII. 185 mph in 1971. Wow.

Here we walk around the beautiful and highly desirable 1971 Iso Grifo MkII (Chassis No. 359/D) at the 2018 Salon Privé.

With jaw-dropping styling (by Bertone’s Giugiaro) and technical expertise from former Ferrari chief engineer, Giotto Bizzarrini, the ISO Grifo caused a sensation at its 1963 debut. Produced by an Italian company better known for making refrigerators and inventing the original Isetta bubble car (later selling the production rights to BMW), the Chevrolet V8-powered Grifo was a stunner; the fastest road car in the world at the time, with an eye-watering price tag to match! In 1968 the larger 7-litre engined model was introduced with a quoted maximum speed of 185 mph (300 km/h).

Only 413 Grifos were built, just 90 with RHD steering, and only seven Mark 2 models brought into the UK, such as this painstakingly restored 7-Litre example. The updated Grifo Mark 2 featured a restyled aerodynamic front end with pop-up head lamps, this being the preferred specification of this ISO’s owner, who has been fascinated with the model since childhood when given a Matchbox toy of the Grifo.

For more information on Iso feel free to go here.

For more information on the Iso Grifo feel free to go here.