Another classic Lesney creation when it was introduced as the new #14 model in 1968 was the breathtaking Italian sports car Iso Grifo, following a trio of ambulances in the Matchbox 1-75 series. The real Grifo was first designed by Italian Giorgetto Giugiaro (b. 1938) in 1963, while the mechanicals were the work of Giotto Bizzarini (b. 1926). The vehicles were produced by Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A. of Italy, a company that was active since the late 1940's and were also known for the iconic Isetta "bubble car" in the 1950's.
The first "street" production Iso Grifo GL 2-door sports coupes appeared in 1965, powered by American Chevrolet Corvette small-block 327 V-8 engines fitted to American-supplied Borg-Warner 4-speed manual transmissions. The engines were ordered and manufactured in the U.S., then taken apart and blueprinted before they were eventually installed in the cars. With over 400 horsepower and a weight of less than 2,200 pounds, the Grifo was able to reach speeds over 275 km/h (171 mph). As Lesney issued their version of the car in 1968, it appeared with the same body styling as these first Grifos. At this point in the production of the real car, a larger Chevy 427 engine began being used, and required several modifications to the car to accommodate it. A large hood scoop was added to clear for the larger engine's deck height. The factory now claimed the car could reach a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph).
In 1970, a styling change was made to the nose section of the car for the "Series II" Iso Grifos, which gave it a sleeker look and now featured hideaway headlights. For the IR-9 "Can Am" version, the Chevy 427 engine was switched to the even more powerful 454 engine. Production stopped in 1972, when the last IR-8 Grifos were released with a small-block Ford Boss 351 Boss instead of a Chevy engine. This was the final version of any Iso vehicle as Iso S.p.A. ceased all production in 1974, with a total of 413 Grifos produced.
Lesney, as was first mentioned above, first issued their 14-D Iso Grifo as a regular wheel model with opening doors in 1968. This model was converted to Superfast wheels in late 1969 in the same rich dark metallic blue, and fitted with an early type "thin" wheels. It was switched during its production to a medium non-metallic blue and wider wheels, before being replaced by the Mini HaHa, a fantasy Mini-Cooper creation, in 1975. The Iso was also "resurrected" for the Japanese basic range as J-3 from 1977-79 in powder blue with 5-spoke or harder-to-find dot-dash wheels, and was produced in a range with no moving parts or interiors in the "Super GT" range from 1986-1990.
A real Iso Grifo, also in dark blue like the popular Matchbox model of it first released in 1968.