And then, 40 years ago, Monica took to the stage
Anyone who sees the elegant four-seater with the name"Monica", which could well be a direct predecessor of the current Maserati Quattroporte, with a dash of Lotus (Elan +2) thrown in, can hardly believe that this car is the result of one of the least successful sports saloon projects of modern times. One would truly have wished it a better fate.
But the history of its creation was already full of thorns and twists and turns. The first prototypes were built as early as 1968, at that time still with a tuned TR4 engine. The body line at the time is described as not very elegant and unspectacular.
By 1972, several more prototypes had been created, which in terms of form were closer to the car we know today as the Monica.
The development of the engine was also characterized by trials and tribulations. The TR4 engine was to be replaced by an in-house development, but this never materialized due to a lack of reliability, among other things. A Rolls-Royce engine was also never to find its way under the long hood; in the end, a Chrysler V8 engine was installed.
The car was shown for the first time at the Paris Motor Show in 1972. A few months later, the elegant saloon was on display in Geneva, where only the connoisseur would notice the differences.
Compared to the two dozen or so prototypes, series production was more than meagre, with barely more than 10 units produced. The car was too expensive and lacked prestige, but not performance and "beautiful living" interior design. Today, there are said to be six vehicles left, two of which have already been documented in this blog.
The pictures areof course also available in high resolution in the Zwischengas archive and as soon as we get our hands on a roadworthy example, we will also publish a comprehensive vehicle report on this highly interesting sports saloon.
