Renzo Rivolta (5 September 1908 – 20 August 1966) was an Italian Engineer.

Career

In 1939 Rivolta founded ‘Isothermos’ a successful manufacturer of refrigeration units. After World War II his company began producing motor scooters and then motorcycles. By 1950, Isothermos was renamed Iso Autoveicoli and was Italy's third largest two-wheel producer, behind

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian brand of scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy, to a ...

and

Lambretta Lambretta () was a brand of motor scooters, manufactured in Milan, Italy, by Innocenti. The name is derived from the word Lambrate, the suburb of Milan named after the river Lambro which flows through the area, and where the factory was locat ...

. Rivolta produced home appliances, and Iso scooters, before moving to car production. In 1952 he developed the

Isetta The Isetta is an Italian-designed microcar initially manufactured in 1953 by the Italian firm Iso (automobile), Iso SpA, and subsequently built under license in a number of different countries, including Argentina, Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil ...

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are ofte ...

(which he described as "half motorcycle and half car") and sold the car in Italy. The car became famous through the licensed production at BMW. The company later produced sports touring cars starting with the Iso Rivolta IR 300, using Chevrolet 327ci engines and gearboxes. Rivolta used to say "At the wheel of a car I enjoy myself only above 120 mph." Iso entered racing, and won its class at Le Mans in 1965. In the 1960s Rivolta's company produced the Iso Grifo, Bizzarrini, and other sports cars, all using the GM drivetrain. The Bizzarrini is now a much sought after model, having been developed by Giotto Bizzarrini, an ex-Ferrari engineer who designed their GTO models.

Personal life

Rivolta was born in

Desio Desio () is a (municipality) in the province of Monza and Brianza, in the Italian region of Lombardy. History In 1277 it was the location of the battle between the Visconti and della Torre families for the rule of Milan. On 24 February 1924, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

on 5 September 1908. He had a good education and could speak several languages. He lived in

Bresso Bresso ( Milanese: ) is a municipality (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan. As of 2025, it has a population of 26,530 inhabitants and a population density of 7,849 persons/k ...

, a

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

suburb in a mansion that was surrounded by gardens and the companies factories. When Rivolta suddenly died in 1966, his son Dr. Piero Rivolta Barberi, who was only 25 at the time and also a mechanical engineer, took charge of the company.

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading