The Monteverdi Safari is a Swiss luxury
SUV
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definition ...
first presented by
Peter Monteverdi
Peter Monteverdi (7 June 1934 – 4 July 1998) was a Swiss people, Swiss carmaker and creator of the car brand ''Monteverdi (car), Monteverdi''.
At the beginning of his career, Monteverdi was a automobile salesperson, car salesman. His father ra ...
in 1976. It entered into production in 1977.
[ Production came to an end in 1982, after production of the ]International Scout
The International Scout is an off-road vehicle produced by International Harvester from 1960 to 1980. A precursor of more sophisticated SUVs to come, it was created as a competitor to the Jeep, and it initially featured a fold-down windshield. ...
(upon which the Safari was based and with which it shared many parts) came to an end. There was also a lower-priced version called the Sahara, which retained the Scout's original bodywork with some modifications.
History
Having previously only built high end sports cars, the Safari was Monteverdi's first attempt at marketing an SUV. It was based on the International Scout
The International Scout is an off-road vehicle produced by International Harvester from 1960 to 1980. A precursor of more sophisticated SUVs to come, it was created as a competitor to the Jeep, and it initially featured a fold-down windshield. ...
, with a new body built by Fissore, with whom Monteverdi had a long standing relationship, as well as a more luxurious interior and available Chrysler V8 engines. There were relatively few luxury SUVs offered in Europe at this time, with the Safari's main competitors being the Range Rover
The Land Rover Range Rover, generally shortened to Range Rover, is a Sport utility vehicle, 4x4 Luxury car, luxury SUV produced by Land Rover, a marque and sub-brand of Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors. The Range Rover line was launched ...
, as well as low volume models from customizers like the Felber Oasis, which was also based on an International Scout. In its home country of Switzerland, the Safari's 1977 domestic market price of CHF 39,000 was CHF 5,000 higher than that of the Range Rover
The Land Rover Range Rover, generally shortened to Range Rover, is a Sport utility vehicle, 4x4 Luxury car, luxury SUV produced by Land Rover, a marque and sub-brand of Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors. The Range Rover line was launched ...
. While the Safari’s sales volumes were dwarfed by those of the Range Rover, they were high compared to the company’s other models such as the High Speed.[ Production estimates for the Safari vary, with some sources saying that the Safari sold in triple digit numbers, making it Monteverdi's all time best selling model.
As it was positioned to compete with the Range Rover, the Safari featured a number of luxury features, some of which were unique to the Safari while others were optional extras from the Scout it was based on. These include air conditioning, new seats with optional leather upholstery (cloth or faux leather as standard), an automatic transmission, switchable four-wheel drive, electric windows, power locks, Monteverdi steering wheel, redesigned center console and dashboard, and a new gauge cluster.] Also available as optional extras were a plexiglas partition, television set, refrigerator, cable-winch and manual or electric sunroof. The automatic transmission and switchable 4WD gave the Safari an edge over the Range Rover, which at the time was only offered with a manual transmission and full time 4WD.
Standard equipment was originally a Chrysler 5.2 litre V-8 engine delivering a claimed at 4,000 rpm and of torque. The torque and added displacement gave it a significant performance advantage over the 3.5 litre-engine Range Rover of the time. A 5.7 litre International Harvester V8 engine was also offered, and Monteverdi claimed that the drivetrain components were also engineered to be able to accommodate Chrysler’s 7.2 litre V8 unit. In its 5.2 litre form, the vehicle achieved a top speed of 165.1 km/h (103 mph) and took 13.1 seconds to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standing start. The large engine and heavy weight led to an overall fuel consumption figure of achieved during the 1977 road test from which these performance figures are taken.[ The 7.2 litre version has a claimed top speed of , and the stated fuel consumption figures were more than 50% higher than for the 5.7 litre version.]
The Safari was only sold as a 2-door SUV, but a 4-door version was built as a prototype. The 4-door prototype did not enter production, but it did precede a short collaboration between Monteverdi and Land Rover starting in 1980 that saw Monteverdi converting 2-door Range Rovers into 4-doors and selling them through Land Rover dealerships. This collaboration only lasted until 1982 though, after Land Rover introduced an official 4-door Range Rover model in 1981.
Monteverdi also sold a lower priced entry level alternative to the Safari called the Sahara, which retained most of the Scout's original bodywork, with some modifications such as the quad headlights, grille, bumpers, and badging. The interior of the Sahara offered many of the same options as the Safari, with a handful of features missing, and the cars typically being less optioned. Engine options for the Sahara included the standard 5.7-litre IH V8, as well as a Nissan SD33 diesel engine, although only one diesel example is thought to have been made. Its estimated that only around 30 Saharas were made, making it much less popular than the Safari.
Gallery
File:Monteverdi Safari in Lenzerheide 1978.jpg, Monteverdi Safari at a Swiss ski resort in 1978
File:2017-03-07 Geneva Motor Show 1050 (cropped).JPG, Monteverdi Safari at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show was an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The show was hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon was organised b ...
File:Monteverdi Safari-102.jpg, Rear section of the Safari: The taillights come from the Peugeot 504
The Peugeot 504 is a mid-size, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive automobile manufactured and marketed by Peugeot from 1968 to 1983 over a single generation, primarily in four-door Sedan (automobile), sedan and station wagon, wagon configurations – ...
Break.
File:Monteverdi-Safari-110.jpg, Monteverdi Safari 4-door prototype
File:Monteverdi-Sahara-101 (cropped).jpg, 1978 Monteverdi Sahara
See also
*Range Rover Classic
The Range Rover is a Four-wheel drive, 4x4, mid-size off-road vehicle series produced from 1970 to 1996 – initially by the Rover Company, Rover (later Land Rover) division of British Leyland, and latterly by the Rover Group.
The first generat ...
References
External links
Brochure Monteverdi Safari, 1978
{{Monteverdi timeline 1967-1995
Safari
A safari (; originally ) is an overland journey to observe wildlife, wild animals, especially in East Africa. The so-called big five game, "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, African leopard, leopard, rhinoceros, African elephant, elep ...
Crossover sport utility vehicles
All-wheel-drive vehicles
1980s cars
Cars introduced in 1976