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The Monteverdi Hai is a kind of mythical Euro-American supercar. Few people have ever seen one, the press have rarely tested one and it had a reputation for being rather unruly. Peter Monteverdi had been building his own Chrysler-engined GT cars in Switzerland since 1967 - handsome coupes cast in the mould of England's Jensen and Bristol models. The Hai of 1970 was Monteverdi's bid for the mid-engined supercar market, whose only player at that point was the Lamborghini Miura.
The Hai was a rather cruder machine, its Chrysler 'Hemi' engine protruding into the passenger compartment; its De Dion rear suspension was based on the type found in his 375 Series front-engined cars. Space generally was tight in the Hai, which had no room for a spare wheel or much in the way of luggage. It was well equipped, though, and even had air-conditioning as standard. The styling had a certain brutal charm and was the work of Monteverdi himself with help from Fissore, who also built the light-alloy bodyshell. Top speed was said to be 169 mph but this never seems to have been verified. The few who did try the car reported unruly handling, particularly in the wet. It remained on the Monteverdi price lists until 1977, but only two are believed to have been sold.
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