Monica is the name of a French luxury automobile produced in the commune of Balbigny in the department of Loire between 1972 and 1974 of which just 40 cars were reported to have been made.

He renamed the company Compagnie française de produits métallurgiques, or CFPM, and began to specialize in the manufacture and rental of railroad tank cars.

[2] The factory where the rolling stock was manufactured operated under a different name, being Compagnie Française de Matériels Ferroviaires (CFMF).

In pursuit of both his interest in cars and a way to diversify his railway business, Tastevin began making plans to launch his own brand of automobile in 1966.

[3] Automotive journalist Gérard "Jabby" Crombac had seen the engine at the 1966 Racing Show at Olympia West Hall in London.

Lawrence laid out a chassis with a central tunnel made of four square-section 18 gauge steel tubes with extensive cross-bracing.

16 gauge aluminum formed the front and rear bulkheads and floors and was used on both sides of the central tunnel to stiffen the car further.

[1]: 135 The front suspension used very tall uprights with the wheel spindles on one side and a short stub axle extending inwards on the other.

The rear suspension was a De Dion system with coil springs, two parallel leading links on each side and a Panhard rod.

Designed for the new 3-litre limit announced for the 1966 Formula One season, it weighed just 230 lb (100 kg) with ancillaries and produced 270 bhp (200 kW) at 7000 rpm.

At this time the Tastevins introduced Tudor (Tony) Rascanu, a Romanian exile and former shop manager for Vignale in Italy, to the project.

Rascanu was entrusted with the job of completely restyling the bodywork for the third prototype, but was not allowed to make any modifications to Lawrence's chassis, which was to be sent to French coach-builder Henri Chapron in Paris.

[1]: 158  Vignale, in the meantime, sold his company to DeTomaso in December 1969 and died three days later in an automobile accident while driving a Fiat.

During the May 1968 events in France, Tastevin decamped the entire staff of CFPM to Geneva and tasked Lawrence to keep the Monica project going.

Airflow only asked for a complete set of engineering drawings, a chassis and the number of body panels that Lawrence would require.

Lawrence had heard that Rolls-Royce had recently idled one of their production facilities due to the loss of a contract and might be interested in taking on the Martin V8 project.

Coward refined Rascanu's design by lowering the side window line and deepening the windscreen to give the car a more contemporary appearance.

[1]: 170  With displacement increased to 3423 cc fed by four 2-barrel Weber 40 DCLN down-draught carburetors and the Monica name in script cast into its valve-covers, the revised engine produced 240 bhp (180 kW) at 6000 rpm.

Eventually the technical drawings were completed and approved by Tastevin, which Lawrence delivered to Turin along with prototype #4 so that production of the body panels using the resin/steel hybrid tooling could begin.

Comparisons have been drawn between the final shape of the Monica and many of its contemporaries, with the front view having been compared to the Maserati Indy and Lotus Elan +2, the rear to the Ferrari 365 GT 2+2, and the side elevation to the Aston Martin DBS.

Blown head-gaskets were common and difficulties with deliveries of both block and cylinder head castings held back development.

[1]: 175 In an exclusive article in l'Auto-Journal, writers Jean Mistral and Gilles Guérithaut published a preview of the Monica's debut at the upcoming Salon de l'Auto in October along with an interview with Tastevin.

[1]: 177 Shortly after the Paris auto show, Tastevin phoned Lawrence and told him that he had arranged for the car to be evaluated by a team from Matra.

At the beginning of 1973 the decision was finally made to abandon the Martin V8 and adopt a North American engine, specifically the 5.6-litre (5563 cc) "340" Chrysler LA series V8.

Other minor changes included fabricating the requisite motor mounts, having two new vents let into the fenders and, on later models, two additional grilles fitted to the hood.

[8][9] Modifications to the engines included a Racer Brown stage 3 road camshaft with hydraulic lifters, an Edelbrock Torquer intake manifold, a 4-barrel Holly R6909 750 CFM carburetor, a Chrysler marine specification oil pump, Clevite shell bearings, Forge True pistons, Marine specification valves, and a Felpro race-quality gasket set.

After the Geneva show Tastevin invited several racing drivers and automotive journalists to Paul Ricard's circuit, Le Castellet, to evaluate the new Chrysler-powered car.

The final version of Lawrence's rocker-arm/De Dion suspension is automatically leveling, and the car sits on four Michelin 215/70VR-14 Collection tires mounted on 14 inch alloy wheels.

Finally, it had the misfortune to be officially released just as the first major oil crisis made fuel prices jump and large expensive motorcars less desirable.

[1]: 272 The production assets of the Monica company and as many as thirty cars in various stages of completion were sold to French race driver and Formula One team owner Guy Ligier.