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Iso Rivolta Varedo from 1972 - sensational mid-engined sports car shortly before the end

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Created on June 6, 2012

Text:

Stefan Fritschi

Photos:

Stephen J. Brown

4

Wolfgang Blaube

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Archiv

6

Stephen J. Brown

4

Wolfgang Blaube

3

Archiv

6

Iso Rivolta Varedo (1972) - at full speed in a functional prototype

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Iso-Rivolta Varedo (1972) - at the Concours d'Elegance of the Glenmoor Country Club in Canton, Ohio, in 2010

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ISO-Rivolta Varedo (1972) - lower than a Lamborghini Countach

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Iso Rivolta Varedo (1972) - the cockpit as it appears today

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Iso Rivolta Varedo (1972) - the Ford 351 Cleveland HO engine as it is installed today

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Iso-Rivolta Varedo (1972) - at the Concours d'Elegance of the Glenmoor Country Club in Canton, Ohio, in 2010

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Iso-Rivolta Varedo (1972) - at the Concours d'Elegance of the Glenmoor Country Club in Canton, Ohio, in 2010

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ISO-Rivolta Varedo (1972) - rear view

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Iso-Rivolta Varedo (1972) - at the Concours d'Elegance of the Glenmoor Country Club in Canton, Ohio, in 2010

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ISO-Rivolta Varedo (1972) - center of attraction at the Turin Motor Show in the winter of 1972

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ISO-Rivolta Varedo (1972) - design sketch

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ISO-Rivolta Varedo (1972) - Silhouette of the mid-engined sports car

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ISO-Rivolta Varedo (1972) - at the Paris Motor Show in 1972

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Summary

The spectacular Varedo prototype was intended to symbolize a new beginning for Iso-Rivolta. The model name was also the name of the new development and production facility. However, the oil-crisis-ridden 1970s made it difficult for manufacturers of expensive sports and luxury cars, including Iso Rivolta. The Varedo mid-engined sports car must therefore be seen as a last gasp before the end, but what a gasp! This report tells the story of the Iso Rivolta Varedo and shows the only example in historical and current pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Iso: from refrigerator to motorcycle and microcar manufacturer ...
... and straight into the Olympus of sports and luxury cars
The recipe: Italian lines, American high-volume technology
A mid-engined super sports car for the new start in Varedo
Literally on a par with the Lamborghini Countach
Alleged top speed of 300 km/h thanks to the Ford 351 Cleveland HO engine
The new investor runs out of money after a year
Prototype in the Sarasota Museum in Florida
Further information

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The spectacular Varedo prototype was intended to symbolize a new beginning for Iso Rivolta. The model name was also the name of the new development and production facility. However, the oil crisis of the 1970s made it difficult for manufacturers of expensive sports and luxury cars. They had to take refuge under the wing of financially strong mass-production manufacturers - or go bankrupt. Soon after the end of the Second World War, Renzo Rivolta, son of an Italian industrialist family in the Milan suburb of Bresso, switches the product range from heaters and refrigerators (called "Isothermos") to motorcycles ("Isomoto") and small three-wheeled cargo motorcycles ("Isocarro"). The first almost-automobile is presented in November 1953: the three- and later four-wheeled Isetta (diminutive of "Iso").

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