It's the best Sixties supercar you've probably never heard of, with svelte Italian styling and a brawny American V8 under the bonnet

In the Sixties both Ferrari and Lamborghini were renowned for their big, V12 engined grand tourers, potent but very expensive. Neither were high volume concerns at the time, but what if you were an even smaller Italian car maker wanting a bite of the high performance cherry?

Engineering and styling were easily taken care of, but the costs involved in producing suitably dramatic motive power were considerable. That's where American large block V8s came in cheap cartier love bracelet, usually from Chevrolet or Ford. These were relatively cheap, certainly plentiful and easy to tune for extra power.

One such creation, and very rare, is the Iso Grifo we've driven it and have the video evidence to prove it. The company is probably better known for producing the Isetta bubble car (which was licenced to BMW, among others) in the 1950s. In 1962, Iso's owner Renzo Rivolta moved into the luxury performance segment with the Rivolta IR300, his sleek 2+2 aimed directly at established luxury marques such as Maserati and Ferrari.

His aspirations didn't end there, and the following year Giotto Bizzarrini (previously carrying out development work at Ferrari) provided the mechanical expertise for Iso to refine the drivetrain and platform for a new coup, with the bodywork designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone.

The prototype Grifo was revealed at the Turin show in 1963 to overwhelming approval. The first production cars used reassembled and blueprinted Chevrolet Corvette 5 silver love bracelet.4 litre engines until a 7.0 litre option was introduced in 1968. With some detailing modifications, such as a "pagoda" air scoop on the bonnet (necessary to accommodate the taller engine) and a black band across the rear roof pillar, 322 Series I Grifos were built before the design received a facelift in 1972, with a further 78 Series II cars built. In all, 90 Grifos were specified in 7.0 litre form, with only four in right hand drive.

This Grifo is the one displayed by Iso at the 1968 Earls Court motor show. It has been owned by the vendor for 28 years andis being auctioned by Historics at the Brooklands Museumon June 6, estimated at 240,000 280,000. He bought the Grifo in 1986 without its original 427 cu in, 390bhpengine; a 454 cu in replacement with overbore delivers a displacement of 7.5litres. With fettling from Knight Racing, the engine gives 490bhp at 5,500rpmon the dynamometer.

Theexhaust is a custom built stainless steel system with a much wider bore thanstandard. It's also perilously close to the tarmac.

Subtlebut effective updates include a modern Tremec five speed manual gearbox capableof handling the power and prodigious torque. The ratios closely match those ofthe ZF unit originally fitted to manual Grifos.

Thewheels are Campagnolo Elektron with correct magnesium alloy centre spinners,sourced from Germany at great expense according to the owner.

High profileawards for the car include a First in Class trophy in the "Best of Both Worlds"category in the Cartier Style et Luxe concours d'lgance at the GoodwoodFestival of Speed in 2004.

So theGrifo isn't a famous car, but it is a very interesting one, and Giugiaro's styling is exquisite. There are hints of the Lamborghini Miura, which was also designed by Bertone, but they give the big Grifo a lightness. From the side, the car almost seems to float thanks to the deep, stainless steel sill plates. Just about all of the car's brightwork is stainless steel. The owner reckons it's Bertone's finest work and, with its lustrous red paintwork sparkling in the sun, it's hard to disagree.

It's also a bit of a parts bin special, with a Jaguar steering box, Mercedes wiper motor and Porsche fusebox. I recognise the quarter light winders and rear lights from the Alfa Romeo Giuilia GT parts catalogue.

The black leather interior is entirely original and beautifully patinated. The sills are swathed in quilted leather, while the seat backs feature intricate stamping that's rarely seen because the rear "seats" are actually a pair of boxes trimmed in leather to look like seating; they're not a realistic proposition.

The Grifo fires with a V8 burble that's not as loud as expected, although it's packed with menace. The owner had explained that the V8 has been developed over the years and "now contains a lot of aluminium". A touch of the accelerator causes it to throb with anticipation, and standing behind you can smell the unburnt hydrocarbons.

Clean it isn't, but what a majestic sound as the burble turns to a throb then a roar.

Typically for Italian performance cars of the period, the steering is initially incredibly heavy but lightens as if by magic once you've exceeded 20mph. You steer less with the wheel than with the throttle.

Also typically Italian is the driving position, made for those with short legs and long arms. Again, nothing new in that, but the Grifo is a great deal more than the sum of its parts and accelerates with the relentlessness of a steam locomotive bracelet cartier love occasion.

First impressions of a brawny bruiser of a supercar are dispelled by the lightness of touch required to drive it, although at the (very) high speeds of which it's capable I'm convinced it wouldn't suffer fools gladly.

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