Fresh off his success working with BMW on designing and licensing the Isetta micro-car, Italian engineer Renzo Rivolta enlisted friends and fellow Italian designers for help building his dream Italian grand tourer.

Noted designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of Bertone penned the beautiful body, which cloaked the mechanicals engineered by Giotto Bizzarrini, creator of the hallowed Ferrari 250 GTO.

Initially constructed primarily with Chevrolet small-block V-8 engines, by the early 1970s, Rivolta had followed Chevrolet in upgrading to the monstrous 454-cubic-inch V-8.

This Series II example, with its characteristic hidden headlights, was completed on 3 May 1971 and is said to have been delivered new to Italy.

At some point prior to 1980, the car is said to have had its small-block 327-cid Chevrolet powertrain swapped for the 454-cid big-block engine, ZF five-speed transmission, and distinctive “pagoda” hood from an Iso Grifo Can Am, number 345, which had reportedly sustained body damage.

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