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44-514: ISO Rivolta has its origins in Isothermos of Bolzaneto, a factory producing electric heaters and chillers, purchased by the engineer Renzo Rivolta in 1939 and moved to Bresso in 1942, after a bombing raid on Genoa destroyed the offices. Immediately after the end of World War II , Renzo Rivolta decided to devote his company to the production of motorbikes , a type of market that offered significant commercial profits in those years. The Iso scooter

88-449: A Milan 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. Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet ( French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ filip leo smɛt] ; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday ,

132-631: A V8 engine from a Chevrolet Corvette . The 300 in the name indicated the engine output: 300 hp. From that moment on, it was also clear what kind of cars the Iso would produce: high-performance grand touring cars with top-level finishes. In 1963, the Iso A3 was built and exhibited on the Iso Rivolta stand at the Turin Auto Show . Intended for racing with the acronym A3/C, it was entrusted to Giotto Bizzarrini , who

176-536: A French adaption of the controversial 1959 Floyd Robinson hit " Makin' Love " that was also a hit for Dalida the month prior, was released on the Vogue label in March 1960. His debut album, Hello Johnny , was released later that year. In 1961, his French-language cover of " Let's Twist Again ", " Viens Danser Le Twist ", sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc . It topped almost every European chart, although

220-653: A car manufacturer targeting the narrow market of high-end Gran Turismos , with production halfway between the GTs of the German or American school and the GTs of the Italian school. The real transition to passenger car production took place in 1962 with the public presentation of the Iso Rivolta IR 300 , a luxury coupé designed by Bertone (through Giorgetto Giugiaro ’s sketches) with a chassis developed by Eng. Giulio Alfieri and powered by

264-617: A chalet in the Swiss town of Gstaad from 2006 to 2015 to avoid the high tax rate imposed by the French government. Hallyday said that he would have moved his residency back to France if it changed its tax laws. In January 2014, Hallyday said that his current residence was in the United States after an investigation by a Swiss journalist showed that Hallyday did not spend enough time in Gstaad to qualify as

308-458: A familiar figure to four generations. More than 2,500 magazine covers and 190 books were dedicated to him during his lifetime, making him one of the people most widely covered by the media in France. His death from cancer in 2017 was followed by a "popular tribute" during which a million people attended the procession and 15 million others watched the ceremony on TV. He remained relatively unknown in

352-592: A medically-induced coma so they could repair lesions that had formed as a result of the surgery, and to relieve his pain. On 17 December 2009, Hallyday and his wife started legal proceedings against Stephane Delajoux, the doctor who had performed the original surgery. The conflict was resolved in February 2012 following Delajoux's vindication by medical investigators. Hallyday died of lung cancer at 10:10 pm on 5 December 2017 in Marnes-la-Coquette , near Paris, at

396-515: A modeling career, which left her with little time to care for her son. Hallyday grew up with his aunt, Hélène Mar, and took his stage name from a cousin-in-law from Oklahoma (Lemoine Ketcham) who performed as Lee Halliday . The latter called Smet "Johnny" and became a father figure, introducing him to American music. Influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock n' roll revolution, Hallyday became known for singing rock 'n' roll in French. His debut single, "T'aimer follement" ("Love you madly"),

440-714: A newly built street in the former factory area of Bresso to the Isetta. One of the two surviving warehouses of the Bresso factory has housed the new post office of the municipality since 2013. In 2017, after an initiative by Atelier Zagato , the Iso Rivolta brand was brought back into life and had its name turned into ISO Rivolta. It was first placed on the Vision concept car, created to race virtually in SONY PlayStation 's GranTurismo and adopted by over 120,000 gamers. This success led to

484-639: A resident. One of his favourite leisure activities was riding his Harley-Davidson on long trips through the California desert, staying in small motels along the way. In July 2009, Hallyday was diagnosed with colon cancer , and underwent surgery. On 26 November 2009, Hallyday underwent surgery in Paris to repair a herniated disc . He suffered complications and was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Doctors announced that they had put Hallyday into

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528-571: A stadium through the crowd and once by jumping from a helicopter above the Stade de France , where he performed 9 times. Among his 3,257 shows completed in 187 tours, the most memorable were at Parc des Princes in 1993, at the Stade de France in 1998, just after France's win in the 1998 FIFA World Cup , as well as at the Eiffel Tower in 2000, which had record-breaking ticket sales for a French artist. A million spectators gathered to see his performance at

572-541: The Isetta microcar (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

616-551: The Rester Vivant Tour. A concert in Brussels was released as a live album in 2016. Hallyday was married five times, including twice to the same woman, with the first four marriages ending in divorce. His last marriage was his longest, lasting twenty-one years. His first marriage was to French singer Sylvie Vartan , lasting fifteen years from 1965 to 1980. Their son David was born in 1966. His second marriage to Babeth Étienne

660-598: 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. Rivolta was born in Desio , Italy on 5 September 1908. He had a good education and could speak several languages. He lived in Bresso ,

704-597: The Eiffel Tower, with some 10 million watching on television. Usually working with the best French artists and musicians of his time, he collaborated with Charles Aznavour , Michel Berger and Jean-Jacques Goldman . Hugely popular in France, he was referred to as simply "Johnny" and seen as a "national monument" and a part of the French cultural legacy . He was a symbol of the Trente Glorieuses when he emerged in 1960 and

748-485: The English-speaking world, where he was dubbed "the biggest rock star you've never heard of" and introduced as the French version of Elvis Presley . Jean-Philippe Smet was born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris on 15 June 1943 to a Belgian father, Léon Smet, and a French mother, Huguette Eugénie Pierrette Clerc. Léon Smet, who worked as a nightclub performer, left his wife and son a few months later. Clerc started

792-564: The Fiat 850, on whose chassis the Siata Spring was built, was no longer in production, an agreement was made with SEAT, which was still building it in Spain. The "'Museo ISO Rivolta" is a project that has been in development for years, with a plan to inhabit the former warehouses of the historic factory in Bresso. It was intended to collect motorbikes and cars. In 2008, the municipal administration dedicated

836-716: The French market and the Romi Isetta for the Brazilian and South American markets in general, and then the BMW Isetta . The Bavarian company was far from being a healthy company due to an unfavorable post-war reorganization and the unsuccessful high-end models it offered after the war. The launch of the BMW 250, i.e., the BMW-branded Isetta, was much more successful than in Italy. In the end, a total of 160,000 units were produced and sold. At

880-454: The Iso company limited its production solely to cars. In 1961, a final 500 cm motorbike with a boxer engine was presented, but never went into production. In the early 1950s, Renzo Rivolta developed the concept for a car that was halfway between a car and a motorbike, to bridge the gap between the classic motorcycle and the cheapest Italian car of the time, the Fiat Topolino . The idea

924-528: The Italian-American Iso Pera. After producing 10,000 ISO snowmobiles, the Rivolta family eventually gave up ownership. The costs of managing the team, the drop in sales due to the economic and social crises in the first half of the 1970s and conditions in the U.S. market (where the company was late in obtaining the status of "Small Manufacturer", which applied less stringent sanctions standards) led to

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968-485: The Rivolta family's decision to revive the company with its first GT model of the new millennium: the GTZ. The design and production of these exclusive collectible cars were entrusted to Zagato. The technological partnership with GM's Chevrolet Corvette for the project is a historic one, with only 19 GTZs to be produced. Data from automobile-catalog.com. Renzo Rivolta Renzo Rivolta (5 September 1908 – 20 August 1966)

1012-595: The age of 74. French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute, saying he "transcended generations and is etched in the memory of the French people". On 9 December, his funeral was held in Paris; 900,000 lined the Champs-Élysées as his body was taken to the Madeleine Church . The service was attended by Macron and two of his predecessors. He was buried on the French Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy in

1056-538: The band and forming Humble Pie with Frampton, and rearranged English language versions of both "Reclamation (News Report)" and "Regarde pour moi (What You Will)" appeared on Humble Pie's debut LP of 1969. Often forgotten is Hallyday's non-LP single and EP track " Que je t'aime " from the same sessions. By 1969 alone, his record sales exceeded twelve million units. One of Hallyday's later concerts, 100% Johnny: Live à la tour Eiffel in 2000, attracted an audience of 500,000 and 9.5 million television viewers (the show

1100-534: The beginning of 1973, the Rivolta family listed the company on the New York Stock Exchange . An agreement with Philip Morris and the young team manager Frank Williams led to the formation of the Iso-Marlboro Formula 1 team (the original name of Frank Williams Racing Cars). The business name of the company changed to Iso Motors & Co. due to the raking in of the stock exchange shares made by

1144-476: The cemetery of Lorient parish church ( Église de Lorient ) on 11 December 2017. In February 2018, his two oldest children, David and Laura, announced that they were contesting his will, which left his entire estate to his last wife Læticia and their two adopted children. The will was drafted in the US, and their lawyers contended that this violated French law, which prevents children from being disinherited. Hallyday

1188-521: The end of 1956, production of the Iso Isetta ceased. In the meantime, the Bresso-based company produced the Iso 400, a small, more conventional car with a three-volume body that remained at the prototype stage. At the beginning of 1957, Iso ended its activities in the fields of microcars and motorbikes. Renzo Rivolta aimed to take a new direction and, from the ashes of Iso Autoveicoli, founded Iso Rivolta —

1232-407: The end of 1971, due to the unfavorable economic conditions imposed by GM (demanding advance payment for the engines, which had to be purchased in bloc), the company adopted Ford Cleveland engines. Competition from prestigious brands, especially Maserati and Aston Martin (but also, for some models, Ferrari and Lamborghini ), and the oil crisis of 1973, put Iso Rivolta in financial jeopardy. At

1276-582: The end of car production on December 31, 1974. In anticipation of the impact of the oil crisis on granturismo cars, the Rivolta family decided at the end of 1972 to partner with the ORSA company, a modest industrial plant founded by a small group of Sardinian entrepreneurs on the outskirts of Cagliari, equipped for the small-scale construction of retro-style open cars. For this purpose, the Spring model assembly lines were taken over from SIATA, which had closed its doors. Since

1320-479: The end of the 1960s, Hallyday made a string of albums with Foreigner 's Mick Jones and Tommy Brown as musical directors, and Big Jim Sullivan , Bobby Graham and Jimmy Page as session musicians. These are Jeune homme , Rivière... Ouvre ton lit (also known as Je suis né dans la rue ) and Vie . On Je suis né dans la rue , Hallyday hired both Peter Frampton and the Small Faces and they all play on most of

1364-495: The lead single "Always", Le Cœur d'un homme features "T'aimer si mal", a duet with blues musician Taj Mahal and "I Am the Blues", an English-language song (uncharacteristically for Hallyday) written by U2 's lead singer Bono . His next album, Ça ne finira jamais , released in 2008, another No. 1 on the French album chart, and its lead single, " Ça n'finira jamais ", also reached No. 1. Hallyday's album Tour 66: Stade de France 2009

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1408-592: The signing of a stable powertrain contract with General Motors , the company began the production of a new lineup of models based on the GT 300 chassis (standard, extended or shortened). The result was the Grifo sports coupé (1965), with engines from 5.4 to 7 liters, the Fidia luxury saloon (1968) and the Lele 2+2 grand tourer (1969) designed by Marcello Gandini , chief designer at Bertone. By

1452-886: The track did not appear in the UK Singles Chart . He appeared on the American The Ed Sullivan Show with American singing star Connie Francis in a show that was taped at the Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris. He staged many appearances in the Paris Olympia under the management of Bruno Coquatrix . For their first concert, The Jimi Hendrix Experience opened for Johnny Hallyday in Nancy on 14 October 1966. Film footage from October 1966 exists of Hallyday partying with Hendrix, his manager Chas Chandler and others. He also socialised with Keith Richards and Bob Dylan . At

1496-479: The tracks on the album. Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane of the Small Faces contributed their compositions "Amen (Bang Bang)", "Reclamation (News Report)", and "Regarde pour moi (What You Will)" to the album. "Amen" is a French-language variation on "That Man", a previously-released 1967 Small Faces song played in a heavy rock style. Tensions between the Small Faces during the recording sessions led to Marriott leaving

1540-659: Was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career spanning 57 years, he released 79 albums and sold more than 110 million records worldwide, mainly in the French-speaking world, making him one of the best-selling artists in the world . He had five diamond albums , 40 gold albums , 22 platinum albums and earned ten Victoires de la Musique . He sang an estimated 1,154 songs and performed 540 duets with 187 artists. Credited for his strong voice and his spectacular shows, he sometimes arrived by entering

1584-599: Was a live set recorded at Stade de France during his farewell tour. In 2011 Hallyday released album Jamais seul , recorded with Matthieu Chedid , and started touring again. In 2012 he gave concerts in different countries, including Russia, and released the album L'Attente . Later Hallyday released two live albums, On Stage and Born Rocker Tour (a recording of his 70th anniversary concerts in Bercy and Theatre de Paris). Albums named Rester Vivant and De L'Amour were released in 2014 and 2015 respectively. In 2015–2016 Hallyday had

1628-511: Was a sort of cabin scooter, with four wheels (the two rear were fixed, closer to each other) and a cockpit for two passengers, with only one way in: the front door, which was designed to be the car's nose as well, including the windscreen and steering wheel. The Isetta was not a great success in Italy . Therefore, Renzo Rivolta decided to license the project abroad. The result was the VELAM Isetta for

1672-440: Was an Italian Engineer. 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 and Lambretta . Rivolta produced home appliances, and Iso scooters, before moving to car production. In 1952 he developed

1716-459: Was broadcast live on French TV). In December 2005, Hallyday had his third number-one single on the French SNEP singles chart since its establishment in 1984, " Mon plus beau Noël " (after " Tous ensemble " and " Marie "), dedicated to his adopted daughter Jade. Shortly before announcing his retirement from touring in 2007, he released a blues-flavored album, Le Cœur d'un homme . In addition to

1760-547: Was hired by Iso as a track engineer. The bodywork, on the other hand, was made at Piero Drogo 's Carrozzeria Sports Cars in Modena using 1,700 rivets. In fact, the second Iso model was nicknamed "millechiodi". In 1965, the "berlinetta" version of the A3 was sold to the actor and singer Johnny Hallyday , who helped make it a lifestyle icon. With the start of sales in the United States and

1804-626: Was his shortest, lasting for 65 days. Hallyday had a four-year relationship with French actress Nathalie Baye . Their daughter Laura was born in 1983. His third and fourth marriages were to the same woman, Adeline Blondieau, from 1990 to 1992, and from 1994 to 1995. Officiated by Nicolas Sarkozy , his fifth and final marriage was to Læticia Boudou from 1996 until his death. The couple adopted two girls from Vietnam : Jade Odette Désirée, born 3 August 2004 (formerly Bùi Thị Hoà), in November 2004, and Joy in 2008. Hallyday, who resided in Los Angeles, owned

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1848-470: Was once called "the French Elvis ". The Daily Beast described Hallyday as "a hip swiveling, leather-clad Gallic answer to Elvis Presley who shook up his home country's music scene with American-style rock-n-roll and bad-boy antics." He remained largely unknown outside the francophone world and was sometimes described as "the biggest rock star you've never heard of" in English-speaking countries. He

1892-600: Was one of the company's early vehicles. It was equipped with a twin-cylinder engine inspired by the 125 Puch . Together with the Isomoto, the company was encouraged to add new versions and models such as the Isocarro, Iso GT, Iso Sport and Iso Ciclo. In 1957, developing a project created on behalf of Maserati , the company replaced the now obsolete Iso 125 with a new model (Iso F/150) with more compliant lines that did not disappoint expectations. It remained in production until 1962, when

1936-426: Was to create a motorbike with a body in order to have a vehicle that was equally as economical, but with the protection offered by a normal car. The company register changed to Iso Autoveicoli and in 1953 the Isetta was launched. The Isetta featured a distinctive "egg" shape, and was powered by the engine already fitted on the Isomoto 200, albeit increased to 236 cm with an aluminum cylinder and chromed cane. It

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