As we treat our customers projects as strictly confidential, we asked them for a short comment we could publish.

From all their responses, this one exemplifies what they think about our work:

The correct restoration of classic cars is often made difficult by debilitating rust damage, previous accident repairs, the absence of an original car to work from, and by the lack of repair panels that are faithful to the original. Giorgetto Giugiaro s design of the ISO Grifo is extremely subtle and very sensitive to the slightest changes in dimensions and curvature, especially in the frontal area of the car. A quick search of images of ISO Grifo cars yields astounding, often disturbing, sometimes downright scary variations of the original Giugiaro design. These are hand-built cars and as such will inevitably show significant variations, even between the two sides of the same car. But despite such differences, restorations (some supposedly made on the original bucks) that ignore the designers original intent simply ruin a piece of art. 

In approaching REVENGE, my intention was to establish the shape of the ISO Grifo (Series 1) front clip that was closest to those of mid-series-numbered chassis and to obtain the tools to recreate them in metal. REVENGE scanned 1 1/2 cars (the other half of the second car was badly repaired to begin with). Particularly sensitive areas of the Giugiaro design include the shape of the „nostrils, the indentation between the nostrils, and the „muscular curvature on the front wing and its runout toward the front mask. REVENGE  began by comparing the scanned shapes to understand variances. These analyses were further informed by comparisons with in-period photos. Together they helped establish the baseline shape from which the final CAD model was evolved. This final CAD model was then used to mill a full scale buck of the front clip. The new front clip was built using this buck and traditional metal-shaping techniques.

In working with REVENGE it was pivotal that the principals have extensive automotive backgrounds, a true passion for classic cars, and a mastery of the latest scanning and design tools. The use of a scanner and CAD technologies alone does not guarantee a faithful recreation. It requires extensive design experience, as well as sensitivity and judgement to decide how to deal with variations between different cars of the same model and even between the two sides of one car. Such variations often go unnoticed until a car has been scanned with a high-tech 3D-scanner. Colored „heat-maps help visualize and measure variances between the CAD model and the original scans. But there is no substitute for careful research (old photos), design experience, a keen sense of shape and proportions, and judgement — all of which I found at REVENGE.

As a customer of REVENGE and true fan of Giugiaros Grifo design, I very much enjoyed the fact that I was welcome to participate in every stage of the process. Inevitably, the transfer of the raw scans into the CAD model spurred detailed discussions of almost every aspect of Giugiaros design and the intentions behind it. To me, this process was as enjoyable and satisfying as the finished (metal) end product. Final confirmation of the approach came from the restoration experts who installed the finished front clip and expressed admiration for its excellent fit and easy installation.

Juergen M. Wilms