[1] During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he also built, sold, and raced a number of "specials" called MBM, while at the same time developing the motor vehicle repair business founded by his father into a major dealership handling Ferrari, BMW, and Lancia brands.

[3] By 1967, he had decided to undertake series production of exclusive high-performance luxury sports and touring cars.

The first model, the two-seater Monteverdi High Speed 375S coupé, was launched at that year's Frankfurt Motor Show and received very positive reviews.

The car used a heavy and simple steel frame provided by Stahlbau Muttenz GmbH with an aluminium body designed by Pietro Frua.

It looked quite similar to other Frua creations of that time, particularly the Maserati Mistral Coupé and the British AC 428.

Fissore redesigned the 375 Coupé and built the bodies that were then delivered to Monteverdi in Switzerland, where the cars were finally assembled.

These early Fissore cars are extremely rare nowadays, with the convertible reported as lacking rigidity.

Other variations on the same theme were the 1974 Berlinetta with a different front styling and Triumph TR6 tail lights, and another convertible, called Palm Beach, which remained a one-off.

This was in contrast to the more unusual models such as the Palm Beach or the Hai, which were of a more one-off nature and thus much costlier to build.

[3] By that time, Monteverdi had started the mass production of a new kind of car, well-equipped luxurious off-road station wagons.

Fenders, bumpers, grill and some smaller parts were modified: headlamps were taken from the Fiat 125 and rear lights came from the Renault 12.

The front got a massive chrome grille with four round headlamps, looking like an Alfa Romeo Alfetta (third series), while the rear lamps were provided by the Peugeot 505 sedan.

White two-door cars were sent directly by Land Rover with an extra set of doors for conversion.

After having success in Swiss hill climbs, Monteverdi entered the MBM in the 1961 Solitude Grand Prix.