You only live to be 30 once. This is true for people, cars and clubs. In the 1980s, Peter Monteverdi encouraged Ruedi Wenger from Basel to found a Monteverdi Brands Club. 30 years later, the international club is celebrating its birthday with a special exhibition at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne.
Twelve exceptional cars
In order to put together twelve vehicles that characterize the work of Peter Monteverdi as broadly as possible, it was possible to draw on the collections of club members as well as loans from the Monteverdi Museum in Binningen and autobau Romanshorn.
Visitors to the exhibition can now admire a Monteverdi 375 S from 1968, bodyworked by Frua, and several 375 L and S cars, bodyworked by Fissore.
As is well known, there was a dispute between Peter Monteverdi and Pietro Frua and Monteverdi subsequently switched to his rival Fissore. In the course of this change, the design of the vehicles was also adapted.
Of course, the Monteverdi Hai super sports car should not be missing, exactly four were built. Despite great interest at the time, Monteverdi decided against a larger series because only a few potential owners could match the performance (up to 295 km/h) and driving characteristics of the mid-range sports car.
Two Monteverdi Sierra saloons, which were built in the 1970s based on the Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare, are also on display. And, of course, the Monteverdi Safari off-road vehicle, which was created on the platform of the International Scout, is also on display.
The eighties are represented by a Mercedes-based Monteverdi Tiara.
It is well known that Peter Monteverdi was very enthusiastic about motor racing, and so of course two formula cars should not be missing, a Monteverdi F1 from 1990 and an Opel Lotus from 1993 that was launched under the Monteverdi banner.
Embedded in the Museum of Transport
With the exception of the Formula 1 car, which is located in the entrance area, the cars are presented in the car hall of the Museum of Transport. The cars have been integrated into the high-rack exhibition infrastructure. Visitors can select the vehicle of their choice and it is then automatically moved from the industrial-inspired high-bay warehouse to a podium and rotated for inspection. At the same time, visitors can read interesting information about the vehicle.
The Monteverdi Hai was given a podium that the unique sports car deserved.
Immortal
Over 3500 vehicles were created by Peter Monteverdi. That sounds like a lot, but it is less than the annual production of Maserati today. And the 3500 vehicles are spread across a variety of models, classes and designs. And who remembers that it was Peter Monteverdi who built the first four-door Range Rover and then successfully sold this concept to British Leyland.
Peter Monteverdi built his first own cars under the abbreviation MBM, and it was ultimately the editor-in-chief of Automobil Revue who persuaded the Basel entrepreneur to use his Italian-sounding surname as the brand name after all.
The exhibition at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne is open from January 6 to April 6, 2015 and can be viewed as part of a normal museum visit.
Further information about the exhibition
- AR-Zeitung No. 40 / 1967 from 14.Sep.1967 - Page 19: Monteverdi - new Swiss car brand
- AR-Zeitung No. 52 / 1979 from Dec. 20, 1979 - page 35: Peter Monteverdi - from constructor to designer
- SwissClassics Revue No. 20/4 2008 - Page 28: With a hard hand and a big heart
