The Iso Grifo that made it on to the big screen

Considering that some still regard it as a bit of a mongrel, Italy’s Iso Grifo has a pretty impressive pedigree. Its sleek, grand-tourer bodywork was penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro (whose CV also includes the Lotus Esprit and the Volkswagen Golf); its mechanicals were designed by Giotto Bizzarrini (who was responsible for Ferrari’s celebrated 250 GTO); and its powerplant came from the Chevrolet Corvette.

The brainchild of Iso founder Renzo Rivolta (whose industrialist forebears made a fortune from products as diverse as bubble cars and refrigerators), the sporting two-seater launched in 1965 was to be sold alongside the two-plus-two Iso Rivolta.

The Grifo, named after the griffin, the half-lion, half-eagle mythical king of beasts, was intended to provide serious competition to the likes of Ferrari and Maserati by combining the beauty and style for which Italian GT cars were renowned with the strength and reliability for which they weren’t – hence the use of tough American gearboxes and V8 engines.

The first models used small-block 5.4-litre Corvette engines, which, thanks to the car weighing less than 1000kg, gave a top speed of around 170mph – instantly making it the fastest road car of the day. A mere 330 such Series I cars are believed to have been made, of which this is an example.

Originally sold to an Italian buyer in the spring of 1967, it achieved a modicum of celebrity status six years later when it appeared in Sergio Martino’s 1973 Mafia crime thriller The Violent Professionals (a film that could never be accused of breaching the Trade Descriptions Act).

It subsequently led a quieter life in the hands of a Dutch owner with whom it remained until 2013 before being shipped to a buyer in New York where it was restored to the original combination of silver paintwork and black leather interior.

The current vendor has owned the car for two years, during which time more than £15,000 is said to have been spent on mechanical fettling.

Despite the Grifo’s exotic appearance, its American drivetrain makes it relatively simple and economical to maintain and can be looked after by any competent mechanic.

But cars needing extensive bodywork refurbishment can prove to be problematic, especially since there is believed to be only one person in the world who specialises in them exclusively – former factory engineer and test driver Roberto Negri, who restores the cars at his workshops in Clusone, Italy.

1967 Iso Grifo Series I. On sale with RM Sotheby’s, Phoenix, Arizona, January 25. Est: £235,000-£300,000. rmsothebys.com