Iso Rivolta Lele

Introduction

Iso Rivolta Lele (or Iso  Lele) is a grand tourer that was produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Iso Automoveicoli S.p.A. between 1969 and 1974. The Lele, being a 2+2-seater, filled the gap between the Grifo and the Fidia while sharing its powertrain with its siblings. The styling was done by Marcello Gandini of Bertone. The car is named after Lele Rivolta, wife of Piero Rivolta (son of Iso company founder Renzo).

Story

Meant as a Christmas present for Piere Rivolta’s wife Rachelle (LeLe) Rivolta, it was decided to put the car into production to succeed the IR 300. Iso Rivolta Lele was first presented to the public at the 1969 New York International Auto Show and was made to compete against the Lamborghini Espada.

Tunning

The car was initially powered by a 350 hp (261 kW) General Motors V8 and was available with a 4-speed manual (later a 5-speed unit from ZF Friedrichshafen) and a 4-speed automatic transmission sourced from General Motors. In 1972, after about 125 cars had been produced, General Motors demanded that Iso pay in advance for the engines. Iso chose to replace the Chevrolet engine with Ford’s Cleveland V8 rated at 325 hp (242 kW). The automatic transmission was also sourced from Ford, while the manual transmission remained unchanged.

Conclusion

The angular Gandini styled body and the comfortable nature of the car did little to help sales and only 285 cars were made. About 160 Ford-engined Leles and 125 General Motors-engined, had been built by the time, production wound up in 1974 due to Iso’s bankruptcy.