Iso Rivolta: The Coolest Automaker You’ve Never Heard Of
Several boutique European manufacturers have exploited the “American muscle in a coachbuilt body” formula over time, with Milanese firm Iso Rivolta creating some of the finest among such trans-Atlantic crossbreeds: here’s their story.
Several boutique European manufacturers have exploited the “American muscle in a coachbuilt body” formula over time, with varying degrees of success.
But if there’s been a company that, perhaps above all others, truly mastered the art of blending new-world horsepower with old-world sophistication, that’s Iso Rivolta: possibly the coolest automaker you’ve never heard of.
Humble beginnings
Our story begins in the town of Bresso, near Milan, in 1948.
That’s when the industrialist Renzo Rivolta, whose company Isothermos had been producing home appliances since the late 1930s, decided to tap into the country’s strong demand for basic, inexpensive transportation with a new line of scooters and small-displacement motorbikes.
Following the sales success of models like the Iso 125 and Isomoto, Rivolta soon went for the logical next…
