MONTEVERDI 375 L HIGH SPEED 1969 Lot n° 22

4-seat coupe bodywork 8-cylinder V-Twin front engine (Chrysler) Displacement 7,206 cm3 (440 ci) Power output 375 hp Top speed 255 km/h Mileage 15,605 km on the odometer Serial number 2017 After building single-seaters in Formula Junior and a few synthetic coupes under the MBM (Monteverdi Basel Motors) brand in the 1950s, Peter Monteverdi (1934-1998) made a name for himself in the mid-1960s with ambitious Grand Touring cars that bore his name. The Monteverdi's were rivals to the De Tomaso, Jensen and Iso Rivolta, to which they were similar due to their American V8 engine, but also due to their Italian bodywork. The chassis was made of square tubes in the Monteverdi workshops in Binningen, near Basel, and then sent to Italy where it received its bodywork. The chassis was then sent to Italy for bodywork, returned to Switzerland for motorization in Binningen, and then received its interior trim in a saddlery shop in the Basel area. The first Monteverdi 375 S were dressed by the Turin coachbuilder Pietro Frua. The Studio Tecnico Pietro Frua had a workshop with a very modest handcrafted production capacity, allowing only single or small series production, which was perfectly suited to the needs of Monteverdi. But in March 1968, when Monteverdi wanted to increase the production rate after the presentation of the 375 L, a 2+2 with an 18 cm (2.68 m) longer wheelbase, Frua was not in a position to invest in an expansion and to move up a gear. Peter Monteverdi turned to the Fissore body shop in Savigliano, in the province of Cuneo, which was commissioned to build the Monteverdi 375 L. This workshop, founded in 1921 by the brothers Antonio, Bernardo, Costanzo and Giovanni Fissore, specialised in light commercial vehicles. In the 1960s, the company began to take an interest in cars with the Vemag Fissore and DKW, and then its new stylist Trevor Fiore delivered some very interesting sports cars - Osca 1600 GT, TVR Trident, De Tomaso Vallelunga, Elva 1600 GT - and above all the Monteverdi. The Rayton Fissore Magnum, launched by Bernardo's daughter in 1976, brought some fame to the small carrozzeria. In early 1969, Fissore began building the 375 L. It has nothing to do with the 375 L of Frua, unveiled in March 1968 at the Geneva Motor Show and still unique. It is on the basis of this 375 L designed and built by Fissore, with its sober lines - some would say a bit stiff - but very well balanced, that Monteverdi will organize its new range. The 375 S was launched in the autumn of 1969, a two-seater coupé (on the same 2.5 m footprint as the 375 S Frua), with the same profile as the 375 L Fissore, with a recessed headlamp front end and a drooping front end. The 375/4 sedan and the 375 C cabriolet (which would remain unique) followed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1971. These two cars were based on the 375 L, shortened to 2.5 m for the convertible (with the same front end as the 375 S) and lengthened by 50 cm (3.18 m) for the 375/4 sedan (with the front end of the 375 L with double headlights set into the grille). Technically speaking, there's nothing original, since the structural package of the other 375s is the same, along with the 375-hp Chrysler V8 (hence the name) and automatic transmission, which are common to the entire range. Monteverdi claims to have built a few hundred 375s between 1966 and 1973, all models combined, probably between seventy and eighty, according to the most plausible estimates. However, the total Monteverdi production amounts to about 3,000 units when one adds the less original and less exclusive Montever di after 1973, the Plymouth Volare-based Sierra, the Inter-based Safari and Sahara, the Mercedes-Benz S-based Tiara and the 4-door Range Rover. Peter Monteverdi died in 1998 at the age of 65. This 375, one of the first L Fissore series, has 15,605 km on the clock. It was delivered on 18 November 1969 to a dealer in Zurich, Switzerland, who sold it on 19 March 1970. It was sold to Germany in 1993, before being acquired in 2008 by an Australian owner who undertook a complete mechanical rebuild, engine, gearbox, differential, suspension, brakes, etc. The radiator was replaced and the cooling system was improved. The interior, with caramel coloured leather upholstery, has been overhauled, a modern air conditioning system has been installed but the car still has its original radio. The car was repainted in its original light blue color in 2018. The quality of the paint and bodywork is very good, with a very good panel fit. The car is equipped with wheels