In 1966, upon the untimely death of his father Renzo, Piero Rivolta became the CEO of Iso, an Italian automobile manufacturing company founded by his father. Piero was only 25 — making him the world’s youngest chief executive of a major car manufacturer.
In 1995, well-known automobile journalist Winston Goodfellow wrote a comprehensive, 536-page book about the Rivolta car-making journey — ISORIVOLTA: The Men, The Machines, published by the Italian publishing house Giorgio Nada Editore. The tome was described by writer Robert Cumberford, in a 2012 “Automobile Magazine” article, as “remarkably clear-eyed and complete – down to every car’s serial number – with many interviews with participants, major and minor … .”
ISORIVOLTA: The Men, The Machines offers an unprecedented look inside the world of exotic cars, and a fascinating examination of Iso, a well-known Ferrari and Maserati competitor in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Goodfellow takes the reader on the adventure of two lifetimes — father and son — as he charts the company’s rise from constructor of the famed Isetta bubble car to manufacturer of exclusive 150+ mph GTs that were hailed by the press as “a dream come true” and “the best that money can buy.” Both Renzo and Piero Rivolta are quoted throughout the book, discussing the design, birth and testing of all of Iso’s fascinating machines.
ISORIVOLTA: The Men, The Machines is much more than an in-depth examination of a single company and its cars. It also shows how the GTs and the people that created and built them were influenced not only by the competition but by the era’s political, social and economic climates.
Praise for ISORIVOLTA: The Men, The Machines
“If you want to find out what it is really like to own and operate an exotic car company, then you have just found your textbook.”
—Tom Tjaarda, designer of the Pantera and Fiat 124
A must-have book if you follow the Iso Rivolta automobiles. Loads of real info in the years of production of the Iso cars. Covers all models built from the “egg” car to the one off Varedo, and gives a peek at what the Rivolta group is doing with boats, city cars, and the Grifo 90. Just buy it to look at the pictures; it’s full of full color prints and text to make it a can’t-put-down book.
–J. Eugene Greenfield
Winston Goodfellow provides a tantalizing, well-written story of a family’s quest to build beautiful, fast yet reliable automobiles. More than a dry history of an obscure Italian car manufacturer, this book highlights the great GT cars of the late 1950’s and 1960’s, in addition to giving a cultural snapshot of Italian design heritage.
–James Taylor