For such a shortlived marque, the power of the Monteverdi myth in the collective imagination of car enthusiasts is remarkable. Its story began in 1967 and ended in 1982, and in its day so little information about the company was available that it was almost a secret. To see one at the Geneva show, on a prominent stand near those of Maserati, Ferrari and Lamborghini, was genuinely awe-inspiring.
The strong-willed and mercurial Peter Monteverdi was a high achiever, mixing a racing career with time as the Swiss importer of various marques, not to mention being the driving force behind the ultra-rare mid-engined Hai supercar. Yet it is his company’s 375 that stands out, having entered series production even if the exact number built has always been a hot topic among Monteverdi aficionados.
It began with the 375S, engineered in the Basel suburb of Binningen on a beefy squaretube chassis, with a 7.2-litre Chrysler V8 and TorqueFlite automatic transmission. In choosing a big Detroit V8, Monteverdi wasn’t simply following the likes of Iso, de
