Iso rivolta daytona

The Iso Rivolta Daytona was similar in concept to the Giotto Bizzarrini-designed Iso Grifo and was conceived as a dual purpose race car that could also be used on the street. It was designed with racing as its primary function. The sophisticated chassis, lightweight aluminum body and powerful American V8 made for stunning performance. Giotto Bizzarrini was involved with the initial design of the Daytona but left the company in late Renzo Rivolta continued with the project further developing the chassis and contracted Giorgio Neri and Luciano Bonacini of the famous Modena Carrozzeria Neri e Bonaccini Nembo to design and built the bodies.

Bizzarrini continued to offer technical assistance to the project. The Daytona made its public debut at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in were it was greeted with great excitement. Combining a lightweight aluminum body and sophisticated chassis with American power the Iso Daytona had incredible performance for the day.

The Daytona followed the Iso Grifo which was designed by Giotto Bizzarrini as both a race and road-going car. By , Bizzarrini and Rivolta parted ways, but Renzo wanted to continue making race cars and contest Le Mans. He persisted with the Rivolta chassis. To make it race-worthy, a specially prepared body was made from aluminum and only had room for two seats. The work was executed by Bonaccini de Modena from early design sketches by Bizzarrini.

The first car, finished in a light color, was nicknamed the Nembo I. A unique feature was the roll-down rear windscreen. Performance of the initial car, with its Chrysler V8 must have been tremendous. At least one production version was made in for Carlo Bernasconi of Milan. Details included a Corvette V8, a four-speed close ratio gearbox and a Power-Loc equipped Salisbury differential. Suspension was double wishbones upfront but the rear was quite complex. It used a de Dion-type axle with trailing arms and Watts link with inboard disc brakes.

Renzo Rivolta was born in Desio, a town just north of Milan, into a family of well-respected industrialists, who were very active in the community. In , Renzo married Marion Barberi, whose family was based in Turin, shared a similar heritage and also was known to have a great cultural and artistic tradition.

Renzo and Marion both exhibited a passion for nature and for beautiful, fascinating things. The core business of the Rivolta family was in milling wood and related products.

This instilled in Renzo a deep appreciation for trees, which he planted wherever he could; but he also had a passion for speed and mechanical devices, which was the true spark that ignited the ISO and ISO Rivolta story. In , Renzo bought a small company called Isothermos that was producing refrigerators and heaters.

He later relocated his family and business to a XXVIII century villa surrounded by a large tract of land situated in Bresso, right on the Milan city limit. Renzo and Marion put a lot of love and effort into restoring the classic mansion—which is known to this day as Villa Rivolta. They also planted many new trees in the grounds of the existing estate to create a lovely area that later was dubbed the Renzo Rivolta Public Park, following the wishes of their son Piero.

After WWII, the demand for new means of transport increased. Being a field that had attracted Renzo since his youth, he eagerly dedicated himself to building scooters, motorcycles, small vehicles, and then the famous Isetta Bubble Car. It was in this evolutionary period that the company name was shortened to simply 'Iso'. It was based on a visionary concept for that time: a large displacement engine, powerful and reliable, combined with an exceptionally performing chassis resulted in a car that was pleasant and safe to drive, especially at high speeds.

In , a new, more modern factory was built in the nearby town of Varedo. By that time, ISO Rivolta had become internationally famous among the most sophisticated car enthusiasts for their innovative approach in marrying Italian design with American powertrains, thus producing exceptional and reliable performance automobiles.