1970 Monteverdi Hai 450SS

Given Switzerland's penchant for producing high-quality products, it's unfortunate that so few cars were conceived in the country. Surrounded by Germany, Italy, and France, Switzerland's geographic location should have placed the nation at the very center of automotive excellence. The automobile was invented in Germany. France and Italy together raised the motorcar's level of aesthetic refinement to such an extent that many of their cars had more in common with fine sculptures than with 'horseless buggies.' A quick glance at any map of Europe suggested that a confluence of the world's best stylists and engineers should have called Switzerland its home.

Despite this, and despite the country's breathtaking roads, there was never a booming Swiss auto industry. Perhaps this can be blamed on the Swiss overexposure to great cars. Ferraris, Porsches, Bugattis—all these autos were produced so close to Switzerland that maybe the country's would-be carmakers were intimidated by their superb offerings. Maybe the Swiss simply saw nothing in the automotive realm that needed improvement. Whatever its reasons, Switzerland never involved itself to any great extent with automobile production. There was, however, a particularly notable exception to Switzerland's apparent automotive apathy, and his name was Peter Monteverdi.

Born in 1934, Monteverdi was a car enthusiast from a very young age. His father's auto repair shop offered him great exposure to automobiles. When he was only seventeen, Monteverdi built his first car, the Monteverdi Special, by using a wrecked Fiat as his starting point. Monteverdi took over the family repair shop in 1956 after his father's death, and it was then that the young man's great ambitions became clear.

Within the same year that he acquired his father's repair shop, Monteverdi began to produce racing cars. Monteverdi had built Switzerland's first F1 car by 1961. Racing cars were not Monteverdi's only interest, though. As an official dealer of Ferrari, Lancia, and BMW, Monteverdi developed an appreciation for fine road cars. He began to produce grand touring cars of high quality, which featured styling by Frua and power by Chrysler. These 1960s GT cars earned Monteverdi a reputation for building excellent automobiles.

Monteverdi's GT offerings, though, were fairly old-fashioned in their design. A pushrod V8 engine and big, elegant bodywork were not ingredients in the recipe for an innovative sports car, so for 1970, Monteverdi decided to prove to the world that he could produce a sophisticated, stylish, and advanced supercar.

Enter, the Monteverdi Hai 450 SS. A mid-engined design, it was created to upstage the world's best. The Chrysler pushrod V8 was still the engine of choice, but with Hemi heads and 450hp at 5,000 RPM, this was hardly a shortcoming. Twin 4bbl carburetors topped the 7-liter lump, and the compression ratio was a high 10.25:1. Torque was rated at 490 ft-lbs at 4,000rpm.

The longitudinally-mounted engine drove a ZF 5-speed transaxle that sent power to the rear wheels. An ideal suspension setup was provided by coil springs and wishbones at the front and a De Dion axle at the rear. Braking was by ATE vented disc brakes all around, with the rear units mounted inboard to reduce unsprung weight. All of the mechanical bits were contained within a steel body wrapped around a steel tubular frame.

The styling by Fissore of Italy was attractive and exotic, perfect for the Swiss supercar. The look was reminiscent of the DeTomaso Mangusta, a car with which the Hai shared more than just styling similarities. The Mangusta's body was also styled in Italy by Ghia instead of Fissore. DeTomaso's sports car was powered by a big American V8, though from Ford and not Chrysler. The Mangusta transmitted its power through a ZF 5-speed, just like the Hai. DeTomaso didn't need to worry about the Hai 450 SS stealing any customers away from the Mangusta, though, as only one was made.

Monteverdi produced the Hai 450 SS for the 1970 Geneva Auto Show. The company planned to produce 49 copies of the Hai, but no customers would place orders on the astronomically expensive cars so further production could not be pursued. There were three other Hai cars made, but none to 450 SS specifications. The second featured a lengthened wheelbase and was named 450 GTS. The final two were produced in the early 1990s, after the Monteverdi company's end, from remaining factory parts.

The one and only Hai 450 SS is now in excellent condition. Its owner, as of 2006, decided to treat the vehicle to a full restoration, returning the car to its original state after a string of European owners had each left their mark on the car. With performance as sharp as a Swiss Army knife's blade, the Monteverdi Hai 450 SS proves that Switzerland's attention to detail permeated what little the country had in the way of an auto industry.

Sources:

'1970 Monteverdi Hai 450SS.' Fantasy Junction n. pag. Web. 7 Jan 2010. http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/702-Monteverdi-Hai%20450SS-Hemi%20V8.

'1970 Monteverdi Hai 450 SS.' Supercars.net n. pag. Web. 7 Jan 2010. http://www.supercars.net/cars/3920.html.

Coupe
Chassis #: TNT 101
View info and history
Auction entries : 2

Ullrich, Tobias. 'Monteverdi-History of the Company.' TobiasUllrich.de n. pag. Web. 7 Jan 2010. http://www.tobiasullrich.de/monteverdi/history/page2.html.

By Evan Acuña