Peter Monteverdi was a Swiss car dealer and enthusiast with a dream of building luxury GT cars and sedans, and in 1967 he started a company in Basel. The idea behind Monteverdi cars was to make prestigious models with German quality, Italian design, and American engines. They did just that, producing expensive automobiles powered by Chrysler’s V8 engines. Monteverdi made mostly luxurious Gran Turismo coupes but in 1970 the company introduced a sublime model called High Speed which was a fast and elegant four-door limousine.