Monterosa
1946 - 1961
Carrozzeria Monterosa based in Moncalieri, Torino, was founded by Giorgio Sargiotti's in 1946. It took his coachbuilding company until around 1959 for his first true cars to truly come to the top. These were based on either the Fiat 500 or Fiat 600 and were available in three forms: a 2+2 sports coupe, a saloon and a luxury saloon. The engines were available and tuned by Abarth or Stanguellini. Very few cars were built.
In the final years of its life, in the late 1950's, Carrozzeria Monterosa engaged in more top-end creations, probably in an attempt to survive by diversifying production, which had until then focused on middle and lower-end models and on estate cars. The transition to this category of prestigious and expensive cars began in 1959 with the presentation of an elegant saloon derived from the Fiat OSCA 1500 shown at Turin in 1960, designed by [[Giovanni Michelotti]].
The lines were very clean and sporting, with the small peak and steeply-raked front pushing forwards; it was updated in some detail areas for the second series in 1960, and in the same year Monterosa tried some designs on the luxurious Fiat 1800, relying on the talent of Michelotti. The designer, with a lot of imagination, used highly unconventional lines, maybe not the best idea bearing in mind the crisis in the coachbuilding industry.
As expected this convertible, with its unusual side trim line rising at the front rather than at the rear, and with very unusual headlamp treatment, remained just a one-off styling exercise. The idea of moving up-market ended with a single design exercise based on the prestigious chassis of the Maserati 5000GT. Chassis 103.006 was the third built and the only one completed in 1960, fitted with an appropriate body for this type of car. The general lines were similar to the previous 1500 Coupe but with a completely different front end with twin headlights and an elaborate grille recalling Maserati cues and featuring the Trident symbol of the Modena factory.
Despite these generally successful attempts to save the company the Sargiotto factory closed in 1961.
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