The Monteverdi 375/4 was a Swiss super sedan at 150 mph

The Detroit Cavalry War of the 1950s and 1960s prevented American drivers from achieving supercar performance for reasonable money. This allowed European automotive manufacturers to provide their cars with power that they could not build from scratch.

While Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini had the opportunity to build their exotic high-performance V8 and V12 engines from scratch, others knew it was a phone call, including AC, Bristol, Facel Jensen, Iso, Gordon Kible, De Tomaso, and Monteverdi. For Ford, Chrysler or GM, it was a relatively inexpensive adjustment for their power needs.

As for Bristol and Jensen, Chrysler engines were Peter Monteverdi’s favorite tonics. From the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, a successful Swiss car dealer created a series of fast and elegant coupes and sedans, commissioned Italian car builders such as Frua and Fissor to design and manufacture chassis and housings, which were then equipped with a large block Chrysler. power.

Some of these cars were fortunate enough to get the legendary Chrysler 426 Hemi, but most, like the 1974 375/4 sedan, were named for its total power (375 hp / 380 PS) and the number of doors. 440 cubic inches (7.2 liters), which is 425 hp. (431 horsepower) made slightly fewer horses than Hemi, but produced almost as many torque and was less likely to get out of position.

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According to an article on the classic driver, Monteverdi gave a sprint of 62 miles (100 km / h) from zero in 6.9 seconds and a top speed of about 155 mph (250 km / h), which, if true, was 375/4. Faster than any other four doors on the planet when it first appeared in 1970, Benz’s powerful 450 SEL 6.3 was included.

Unfortunately, the oil crisis of the early 1970s did not bode well for people like Peter Monteverdi, who was trying to sell one-digit fuel-efficient cars. No matter how much prices rise, rich people can always buy gas, but they do not like to wait to get it. Serial production was completed in 1973, but you may still have cars made to order before the mid-1970s. Classic driver offers In total, 28-35 models of 375/4 were built, but no one seems to know for sure.

Here is the car I saw auction house Bonhams in July, but if you make it your own, you will have more than the price of gas to worry about. Since it has been considered a static display for ten years, it will need to be reused until it is ready to rotate. Unfortunately, not much is known about this particular example, but he spent time in the Middle East and the plaque on the line says that it was “rebuilt in 1983 and brought to the United States in January 1986.”

It is sold without a reserve in the Gstaad store in Switzerland and costs around 80-140,000 CHF ($ 82-143,000). Or, in the same case and for less money (70-110,000 CHF / 72-113,000 dollars) you are mechanically similar, but even more beautiful Monteverdi 375S, the sister of the sedan coupe, formerly owned by Jay Leno (pictured above). Which would you choose?