Why French singer Johnny Hallyday got little attention outside the French-speaking world will never be understood. The singer was dubbed the “Elvis Presley of France”, as he was regarded as the man who brang rock and roll to the country. Since he passed away last month, words commemorating him have been endless, and it is at this time that one of the cars he briefly owned in the mid-1960s has surfaced and is soon to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s.

Hallyday’s legend status aside, this Iso Grifo A3/C itself deserves every bit of attention it has been getting. Developed by Giotto Bizzarrini, most well-known as the creator of Ferrari 250 GTO, the Iso Grifo A3/C was entered into Le Mans in 1964 and 1965. This particular example here was the eighth of the 10 examples produced using the special riveting method, which is common for building aeroplanes but rarely used in auto making. A special alloy of aluminium, copper and magnesium was used for the body, but the lightweight and elastic nature of the alloy made it difficult to weld. The car was put together by riveting and just weighed 969 kg. It was factory finished in dark red and was re-sprayed in the 1990s in current Ferrari Red, while the originally interior in black is fully retained.

RM Sotheby’s Paris sales event takes place on 7 February. The full ownership history can be found online.