MBM (automobile)
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The MBM was a Swiss racing car built to Formula One regulations. Constructed by Peter Monteverdi at his base in Binningen, the vehicle never competed in a World Championship Grand Prix.
Monteverdi Basel Mantzel
Peter Monteverdi | |
| Full name | Monteverdi Basel Motoren Monteverdi Basel Mantzel |
|---|---|
| Base | Binningen, Switzerland |
| Founder(s) | Peter Monteverdi |
| Noted drivers | Peter Monteverdi |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| First entry | 1961 German Grand Prix |
| Races entered | 1 (0 starts) |
| Engines | Porsche |
| Constructors' Championships | 0 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Final entry | 1961 German Grand Prix |
History
Monteverdi built his first single-seater racing car, a Formula Junior, in 1960, with the help of DKW engine expert Dieter Mantzel. The car was designed to be able to accommodate a 1.5-litre engine to suit the contemporary Formula One regulations.[1]
For 1961, two MBM chassis were constructed, and fitted with Porsche Flat-4 engines, and initially driven in hillclimbs by Monteverdi himself. He then entered one of the cars in the 1961 Solitude Grand Prix, a non-championship Formula One race. Unable to set a representative time in practice, Monteverdi lined up on the grid at the back of the field, and retired with engine failure after just two laps.[2] This car was subsequently written off in an accident at Hockenheim, and Monteverdi buried the wreckage, deciding against continuing with the project.[1] He had entered the car for the 1961 German Grand Prix but this entry was withdrawn after the accident.
The other chassis was later exhibited in Monteverdi showrooms.[1] Some sports cars, the MBM Special, Tourismo, and MBM Sports were also built in very limited numbers before Monteverdi began building cars under his own name in 1967.
