375 bhp, 440 cu.

in.

Chrysler OHV V-8 engine, three-speed Chrysler TorqueFlite automatic transmission, front independent coil-spring suspension, de Dion rear axle with limited-slip differential, and four-wheel disc brakes.

Wheelbase: 2,659 mm Some of the most interesting automobiles of all time came out of arguments with Enzo Ferrari.

Peter Monteverdi had been Ferrari’s Swiss importer, but a falling out between the two mercurial personalities watered a longstanding seed in Monteverdi’s mind, to build his own sports coupé.

Like many European manufacturers of the period, Monteverdi chose to build a “hybrid.” At the time, the word referred not to a petrol-electric automobile, but to a car that combined Italian design brio with a reliable American V-8 powertrain.

Monteverdi’s automobiles were designed by Frua, bodied by the coachbuilder Fissore, and powered by the same Chrysler 440 V-8 and TorqueFlite automatic gearbox used in “muscle cars” of the same era.

Over two decades in busin...