The Rare Iso Grifo A3/C – Bizzarrini’s “Ferrari 250 GTO Mark 2”

The Iso Grifo A3/C was developed by Giotto Bizzarrini as the high-performance, racing version of the road-going Iso Grifo A3/L. Bizzarrini had earlier developed the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO, he said that the Iso Grifo A3/C was intended as a direct successor to the Ferrari.

With all of this in mind, it’s a surprise that the Iso Grifo A3/C isn’t considerably more famous than it is. Relatively few were made, and after Bizzarrini left Iso he created his own company specifically to build more examples of the A3/C.

Fast Facts – The Iso Grifo A3/C

• The Iso Grifo A3/C was developed on the Iso Grifo A3/L for racing, specifically to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and other similar endurance events.
• The car was developed by a veritable dream team, the body was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the engineering was done by Giotto Bizzarrini, the car was built by Piero Drogo, and it was powered by a modified 5.4 liter Chevrolet small block 327 V8 engine.
• Many changes were made to the A3/L to create the A3/C, the car was given an entirely new body, the engine was moved back for better weight distribution, and the final production car weighed in at less than 2,200 lbs (1,000 kgs).
• Thanks to its tried-and-tested Corvette V8 with 350+ bhp and its excellent aerodynamics, the A3/C was capable of reaching speeds in excess of 170 mph. When it competed at Le Mans in ’64 and ’65 it was one of the fastest cars down the Mulsanne Straight.

Giotto Bizzarrini – Father Of The 250 GTO

There can be no denying that Giotto Bizzarrini is one of the most important Italian automotive engineers of his time.

He’s most famous today for leading the development of the Ferrari 250 GTO, now the most valuable production car in history, but he also developed cars for Alfa Romeo, and earlier at Ferrari he had been deeply involved in the development of the Testa Rossa V12 engine, the 250 TR Testa Rossa, and the Ferrari 250GT SWB.

The Iso Grifo A3/C uses all of Bizzarrini’s experience with aerodynamics, to create a low, lightweight car that was capable of over 170 mph down the Mulsanne Straight.

After leaving Ferrari in 1961 after the “Ferrari night of the Long Knives,” Bizzarrini established Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS) with some other former Ferrari engineers to build the ATS Serenissima and a Formula 1 prototype.

He would later develop the Ferrari Breadvan for Piero Drogo of Carrozzeria Sports Cars, and he was hired by a tractor manufacturer named Ferruccio Lamborghini to develop a new V12 engine for a series of high-end GT cars he had planned.

Bizzarrini would later develop the Iso Rivolta IR 300 and the Iso Grifo for Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A., taking the Iso Grifo A3/C design and starting his own marque after a disagreement with Renzo Rivolta, head of Iso.

The Iso Grifo A3/C

The Iso Grifo A3/C was developed on the Iso Grifo A3/L platform as an out-and-out race car to compete at events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Sebring, Daytona, the Nürburgring 1000, and other major endurance events of the era.

The similar model names were separated only by a single letter, the A3/L was the luxurious GT car – the “L” stands for lusso, Italian for “luxury.” The “C” in the A3/C model name stands for “competizione” which, as you may have guessed, is the Italian word for “competition.”

The interior of the car is purposeful, it was designed for racing first and foremost with little weight sacrificed for luxuries.

An entirely new aerodynamic body was developed for the A3/C made from Duralumin – a special alloy of aluminum, copper, and magnesium. This material was essentially impossible to weld, and so the car had many of its panels riveted into place, giving it a distinctive, almost aircraft like appearance.

Suspension and braking systems were revised to better handle the rigors of endurance racing, and the engine was moved back as far as possible to improve weight distribution, resulting in a car that is front-mid-engined.

This also meant that certain engine maintenance tasks had to be carried out from inside the car after removing a panel in the dashboard.

Despite its exceedingly low development budget the Iso Grifo A3/C proved surprisingly successful in competition, at Le Mans in 1965 an A3/C driven by French racing drivers Regis Fraissinet and Jean de Mortemart took the 5.0+ liter class win after a long battle of attrition, coming in 14th overall.

A year later in 1965 the Iso Grifo A3/C would finish third in class and 9th overall. These strong results have led many to wonder what might have been if the team had better funding, giving them a budget closer to that of juggernauts like Ferrari.

The modified Corvette engine was a favorite of Bizzarrini, he liked the immediate throttle response and its excellent reliability, which made it ideal for endurance racing.

Bizzarrini had such conviction in the design of the A3/C that after a falling out with Iso he started his own marque, Bizzarrini S.p.A., to build the car under his own name and further refine it – creating the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada.

The 1965 Iso Grifo A3/C Shown Here

The car you see here is a 1965 Iso Grifo A3/C, it’s believed to be just the 14th car produced, and it features the highly coveted flat rear windscreen – this was only used on the earliest Grifos.

On close inspection you’ll notice the rivets used to hold the Duralumin body in place, this helped to keep the weight of the vehicle to under a ton. When combined with the 350+ hp Corvette V8 and the excellent aerodynamics, the A3/C was one of the fastest road-legal cars in the world at the time.

This Iso is due to roll across the auction block with RM Sotheby’s on the 14th of May in Monaco. It has a price guide of €1,550,000 – €1,750,000 which works out to approximately $1,680,000 – $1,900,000 USD.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

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This Is A Vintage American Sand Rail: A Beetle Powered Dune Smasher

As Sand Rails first began to appear in the 1960s, they represented the second major evolutionary step for off-road buggies after the more primitive creations that had started appearing on American dunes in the years after WWII.

The fundamental architecture of a sand rail typically consists of a tubular steel chassis that includes integral roll over protection. They rarely have much in the way of body panels, and they’re typically powered by a rear-mounted engine – often from a VW Beetle.

Fast Facts – A 1967 Sand Rail

• Sand Rails first started appearing in significant numbers in the 1960s, their design was so well-suited to the task that they’re still being made today in much the same way.
• Most of the early Sand Rails were powered by engines from the VW Beetle. The brakes, suspension, and transmission were also often sourced from the same car.
• Sand Rails get their name from the fact that they’re driven on the sand, and you can see the chassis rails. Beach Buggies are so named because many of them were made from VW Beetle platforms, and Beetles were often called “Bugs.”
• The Sand Rail you see here is a good example of the genre, it has a tubular steel space frame chassis, VW front and rear suspension and brakes, and a VW Beetle engine mounted in the rear sending power to the rear wheels via a 4-speed transmission.

The VW Beetle And The Unstoppable Beach Buggies

The explosion in the popularity of beach buggies that occurred after WWII has been largely attributed to returning servicemen who had grown fond of driving off-road in Jeeps, tanks, trucks, and half-tracks during the war.

Sand rails typically have two bucket seats with harnesses to keep the occupants safely seated even when doing jumps and other high speed maneuvers.

Initially many people used military surplus Jeeps and other modified road cars but it wasn’t long before it was discovered that the VW Beetle was the perfect, albeit unlikely, donor car for sand and beach driving.

Early pioneers like Pete Beiring took the VW Beetle floorpan and shorten it a few inches, then add a simple body. The all independent suspension, reliable drivetrain, and rear weight bias was perfect for driving in deep sand.

These Beetle-based vehicles became known as “Buggies” after the fact that the Beetle was known as the “Bug.”

The Meyers Manx

In the 1960s Bruce Meyers developed the legendary Meyers Manx, he took a shortened Beetle pan and added a new fiberglass body over the top that allowed for off-road tires to be fitted.

The Meyers Manx became the de facto “Beach Buggy” and it’s been copied by countless companies over the intervening years.

This rail is powered by a VW Beetle flat-four engine, these simple air-cooled motors have made up the backbone of the beach buggy and sand rail community since the 1950s.

Interestingly you can still buy a Meyers Manx kit today and build your own road-legal beach buggy at home.

The Arrival Of The Sand Rails

As the 1960s progressed the engineering that went into buggies became more and more complex. Soon people were building vehicles with tubular steel space frames that had integrated roll cages, the wheelbases were lengthened, and many VW Beetle parts were used including the rear-mounted engine.

The use of a rear-mounted engine was seen as ideal as it kept the weight over the driven rear wheels for better traction, and it kept the front tires light so they could almost float over the sand.

Before long many sand dunes were inundated with sand rails of all shapes and sizes, companies appeared selling frames and full build-it-yourself kits, and people started experimenting with more powerful engines and long travel suspension.

Having the engine in the back over the driven wheels gives optimal traction, it also helps keep the front wheels unencumbered so they float over the sand without digging in or bogging down.

Sand rails are now one of the most popular self-built, off-road vehicle types in the country and it’s possible to pick up good secondhand examples if you don’t have the space, time, or inclination to do it yourself.

The 1967 Sand Rail Shown Here

The Sand Rail you see here is documented as a 1967 model which would put its arrival close to the beginning of the sand rail revolution.

Power is provided by a 1.5 liter (1,493cc) flat-four VW Beetle engine fitted with dual carburetors. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a 4-speed manual transmission and a Scat shifter. The frame is finished in red and it has a black interior, with a galvanized checkerplate center console and flooring.

The vehicle has an integrated roll cage for safety as well as bucket seats, and it’s riding on steel wheels fitted with BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires.

This sand rail is due to cross the auction block with Mecum at the end of March, it’s being offered with no reserve and you can click here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid.

Images courtesy of Mecum

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There’s A Custom Ferrari 412 Pickup “Ute” For Sale – $19,500+ USD

In the long and storied history of Ferrari the company has never built a pickup, or a “ute” as they’re called in Australia. This didn’t stop the team at the London Supercar Workshop from building their own – it’s based on a 1989 Ferrari 412 and it’s powered by a 5.7 liter small block Chevy V8.

The act of taking a Ferrari, chopping up its Pininfina designed body, then removing its Colombo V12 and replacing it with an American V8 would likely be enough to get you hung like Mussolini in much of Italy. Fortunately the car was built in England so its creators are still alive and kicking.

Fast Facts – The Custom Ferrari 412 Pickup

• The Ferrari 412 has never been the most loved of Ferrari models. It was a member of the model family that included the 365 GT4 2+2, 400, and 412 – known for their stark angular departure from the more curvaceous Ferraris that had come before.
• The 412 was the final and most evolved model in the series and it was the first Ferrari ever offered with Bosch ABS. All of the cars in the 400 series shared fundamentally the same chassis, body, and suspension over the 16 year production run.
• The sharp-edged styling of the 400 series Ferraris was penned by Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina. Though it was initially controversial the cars are now becoming more and more popular.
• The modified Ferrari 412 you see here was built by the London Supercar Workshop for the “Ultimate Wheels” television series in 2013. It’s fitted with a small block Chevy V8 and the rear has been converted in a teak-decked cargo bed.

The Ferrari 412

When the Ferrari 412 was released in 1985 it was to be the most refined car in the Ferrari 400 model series, it was also to be the last of the series before it was eventually replaced by the Ferrari 456.

The rear cargo area doesn’t have a fold down tailgate, so you’ll have to heft any loads over the back. The bed is all lined with teak, and there’s an upper shelf for additional items.

Perhaps the most significant change when compared to the 400i was the fact that the engine had been bored out slightly, increasing the displacement from 4,823cc up to 4,942cc, with a corresponding 8% bump in power.

The 412 was also the first Ferrari fitted with Bosch ABS, a safety feature that was appearing in more and more passenger cars as the 1980s progressed.

Though the body and chassis was largely the same through the 16 year production of the 400 series there were some minor changes made here and there. The rear deck was raised for more luggage space, the side window trim was changed from chrome to black, and a deeper front spoiler was used for better aerodynamics.

The majority of 412s that were made were fitted with the optional 3-speed automatic transmission, though today its the cars with the 5-speed manual box that tend to get the best prices on the classic car market.

Each of the models in the Ferrari 400 series, including the 365 GT4 2+2, 400, and the 412 endured many years where they were considered “lesser” Ferraris, with prices and desirability more inline with other less desirable Ferraris like the Mondial and 308 GT4.

Above Video: This walk around video gives you a good idea of how the car will look in person.

In more recent years the 400 series cars have enjoyed a surge in popularity, possibly helped along by the inclusion of a Ferrari 400 in the Human After All music video by Daft Punk in 2005.

The Ferrari 412 Pickup Shown Here

The car you see here lit up the internet when it was built back in 2013 for the Ultimate Wheels television series. It was built by X Elo and Will, the show’s hosts, and it caused no small amount of controversy.

The car had its original quad cam Colombo V12 removed by a previous owner, apparently as it was the cause of too many troubles. It was replaced with a reliable but far less exotic Chevy small block V8 mated to a 3-speed automatic transmission.

This engine conversion is likely the reason that the car was priced low enough for inclusion in the TV series, and perhaps also the reason it was seen as a good target for customizing – as no matching numbers car would be harmed.

During the build the rear roofline was completely changed, the C pillar was brought forward almost up to the B pillar and the rear section was converted into a cargo bay. The car has no rear tailgate so any cargo will need to be lifted in and out, and the floor of the rear section has been covered in teak decking.

The car is now being offered for sale in a live auction with Bonhams, the price guide is £15,000 – £20,000 and you can click here if you’d like to see the listing.

Images courtesy of The Market by Bonhams

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Full Vintage Documentary: Vacuum Control Chevrolet Gearshift – 1938

This short film, titled Vacuum Control, explains in detail how Chevrolet’s then-new column shifted manual transmission works. It was produced and released in 1938 to accompany the new technology.

For many drivers during the early days of the automobile, the manual transmission and its clutch pedal were the biggest hurdles. The need to use both in synchronization whilst also steering, braking, and navigating traffic has proven challenging to generations of drivers.

The relatively complex system of levers and arms required to make a column shift manual transmission work are fascinating, and that’s before you look into the pneumatic assistance systems.

Much work has gone into simplifying the operation of the transmission, when the automobile was first created many transmissions were operated with floor-based levers.

The next step in the evolutionary process after this was the column shifter that was easier to use and also cleared the space on the floor where the traditional manual shift lever would have been.

After column shifted manual transmissions came the rise of the pre-selector and finally the automatic transmission, which simplified gearbox operations even further. The first mass-produced automatic transmission was the General Motors Hydra-Matic, which was released in 1939 – just a year after this film was released.

The film’s introduction goes into great detail about air pressure and pneumatics, before explaining how these principles are used to help actuate the column shift transmission.

Column shifted manual transmissions are no longer in mass-production for automobile use, but they were a fascinating step in the evolution of the transmission and the complex mechanism they required to transmit movement from the column-mounted lever to the transmission is a feat of engineering in itself.

If you’d like to read more about automobile transmission types you can click here to read the article by the Universal Technical Institute. It breaks down the major transmission types and explains how they work.

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For Sale: A Street-Legal 1977 Honda CB500 Race Bike

This Honda CB500 race bike was built in the 1970s by engineer Brian Brownrigg for Bolton-based rider Chris Hawkes, the bike won three separate championships in period, it was later lightly modified and registered for road use.

The 1970s were a time when the motorcycle world’s European old guard was being trounced by Japanese newcomers, upending decades of history and resulting in the rapid decline of the industry. Motorcycles like the Honda CB500 shown here were key to this success.

Fast Facts – A Road-Legal Honda CB500 Champion

• The Honda CB500 was released in 1971 as the middleweight sibling to the larger Honda CB750. Both models were fitted with inline-four cylinder engines with a single overhead cam, two valves per cylinder, and an electric starter.
• When it was released in Europe the CB500 was lauded by the press, its advanced engine produced power comparable to a 650cc twin, but it shared none of the leaks or reliability foibles of its British competitors.
• For many motorcyclists the Honda CB750 was simply too big or too powerful, and so the lighter and less expensive CB500 was an ideal fit.
• The Honda CB500 race bike you see here was used competitively in the UK in-period, winning three separate championships at Three Sisters and it led the Ace of Aintree championship for a time.

The Honda CB750: An Industry Transforming Superbike

The Honda CB750 was released in 1969 to meet demand from US dealers for a larger capacity motorcycle to better challenge the dominant bikes from companies like Harley-Davidson, Triumph, Norton, and BSA.

As with almost all race bikes of this type from the 1970s, this CB500 has a full fairing with a windscreen allowing for an optimal top speed down the straight.

What no one knew at the time was that this new model would trigger a tsunami in the motorcycle would that would topple many of the world’s once great marques, fundamentally changing the motorcycle landscape forever.

Thanks to the incredible success of the CB750, Honda developed a new model based on the same architecture, but aimed at achieving in the middleweight market what the CB750 had achieved in the heavyweight market.

The Honda CB500: Middleweight Perfection

This new motorcycle would be the Honda CB500. It was fitted with a new engine that looked a lot like its larger sibling, but used new block, barrel, and head castings, with all new internals.

Like its larger predecessor, the CB500 was an inline-four with a single overhead cam operating eight valves, two per cylinder. It was fitted with four carburetors and the engine was built using unit construction, with an electric starter and a front disc brake.

This engine now has a displacement of 550cc, it’s also fitted with a Yoshimura YH-2-1 camshaft, Honda CG pistons, a bank of four 20mm Mk2 Amal carburetors, and a Kibblewhite valve spring kit.

Power output was a respectable 50 bhp and the top speed was 115 mph, both excellent figures for a motorcycle with this displacement at the time.

The CB500 produced as much power as many larger 650cc engined motorcycles, but without any leaks and without the hassle of using a kickstarter to get it going everyday. The model quickly became a best-seller and it wasn’t long before they began being modified for use on race tracks.

Perhaps the most successful racing version of the CB500 was the one ridden by Bill Smith at the Isle of Man TT in 1973, he won the 500cc TT Production race, finishing 8.2 seconds ahead of second place finisher Stan Woods.

The 1977 Honda CB500 Race Bike Shown Here

The bike you see here is a highly modified Honda CB500, it was build by engineer and successful racer Brian Brownrigg for the Bolton-based rider Chris Hawkes.

This bike has a well stocked trophy cabinet, it won three separate championships at Three Sisters and led the Ace of Aintree championship among many other strong finishes.

Hawkes enjoyed some success at Aintree in the 500cc four-stroke Ace of Aintree championship and also raced at Cadwell Park. In 1982 the bike passed on to new hands, in the years after this it won three separate championships at Three Sisters and led the Ace of Aintree championship.

In the winter of 1982 the bike was given some significant mechanical servicing including a ported cylinder head, white metal shell bearings, and the crank was stripped in order for the connecting rods to be polished and balanced.

It’s now fitted with 20mm Mk2 Amal carburetors, a high-performance Yoshimura YH-2-1 camshaft, Honda CG pistons, a Kibblewhite valve spring kit, and a 56mm re-bore giving it a displacement of 550cc.

A few years later in 1997 the bike was registered for the road for the first time, it retains its road registration in the UK now which potentially makes it an ideal weekend bike for B-road adventures.

If you’d like to read more about this unusual CB500 or register to bid you can click here – it’s currently being offered for sale in a live online auction by Collecting Cars.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

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