Iso Grifo GL350

This 1966 Iso Grifo GL350 is an early Series One car, one of only 25 built in right-hand drive. It uses the small-block Chevrolet 327 V8 with a Borg-Warner four-speed manual gearbox, and is finished in Bianca Polo Park over red leather. A certificate on file records its completion in December 1966.

Its main claim to fame is its first owner: it was delivered new to Mike Hailwood in South Africa, while he was reigning 250cc motorcycle world champion. Photographs on file show it in South Africa and later in the UK, where it returned in 1970. Hailwood later bought a Series Two Grifo, which was badly damaged in a collision with a cow near Durban.

Since coming back to Britain the car has passed through a succession of marque enthusiasts who have looked after and restored it. A comprehensive history file holds correspondence and invoices, and the car is known to and documented by the Iso Register.