Monica (automobile)

The Beginning

The Monica company was founded by Jean Tastevin, a graduate engineer of the École centrale de Paris. His father Arnaud bought the Atelier et Chantiers de Balbigny in 1930. That company was a manufacturer of mining and railway equipment. In 1955 Jean succeeded his father, becoming Chairman and Managing Director. He renamed the company Compagnie française de produits métallurgiques, or CFPM, and began to specialize in the manufacture and rental of railroad tank cars. The company prospered, eventually coming to have 400 employees.

Tastevin was a keen automobile enthusiast. Aston Martin and Facel Vega were among the cars he owned personally. After Facel Vega shut down in 1964 he bought a Jaguar, but regretted not being able to buy a French-made car of that class.

In pursuit of both his interest in cars and a way to diversify his railway business, Tastevin began making plans to launch his own brand of automobile in 1966. He made his long-time assistant, Henri Szykowksi, the project manager. He would also set aside a portion of his factory in Balgigny so that the cars could truly be said to be made in France.

The name of the company is an homage to Madame Monique Tastevin, the founder's wife.

Prototypes and development

With French taxation laws penalizing vehicles having engines displacing over 2.8 litres, Tastevin began looking for an engine of a size and power output suitable for his project. He became aware of the work being done in the UK by Chris Lawrence. Lawrence was known for getting a lot of horsepower out of the Triumph engines in the Morgans he raced. He was also known as the designer and builder of the Deep Sanderson racing cars. At the 1967 British Racing Car Show Lawrence displayed a 2.5-litre Triumph engine with his crossflow cylinder head and Tecalemit-Jackson fuel injection making a claimed 182 bhp (136 kW) bhp. Tastevin contacted Lawrence about his modified engine, and in short order C. J. Lawrence Consultants was hired to design and develop the entire car.

The original goal was to produce a compact two-seat sports-car. As the project progressed the size of the future car grew from a two-door coupe into a four-door sedan and the trim level grew more luxurious. It became obvious that the modified Triumph engine would not be suitable for a new Grand Tourer.

Lawrence had experience with an engine that would be selected as the Triumph's replacement. In November 1967, the rights were acquired to an engine designed by Edward C. "Ted" Martin. The agreement included four complete engines.

The Martin engine was originally designed to compete in the new 3-litre formula announced for the 1966 Formula One season. It was an all-alloy V8 with a single overhead camshaft (SOHC) per bank driven by a toothed-belt (originally Gilmer belt - see also Timing belt). With ancillaries it weighed just 230 lb (100 kg) and produced 270 bhp (200 kW)@7000 rpm. Prior to being acquired for the Monica a limited number had been manufactured by Coventry-Victor and used in an assortment of cars. It was used in the Pearce-Martin F1 car as well as the Lucas-Martin, a modified Lotus 35 Formula 2 frame that was run briefly in Formula One. It also appeared in 2.8-litre form in some specials (including some of Lawrence's own Deep Sandersons) and modified Ford Escorts.

Detuned and bored out to 3423 cc with four 2-barrel Weber 40 DCLN down-draught carburetors and the Monica name in script cast into its valve-covers, the new Monica engine produced 240 bhp (180 kW)@6000 rpm. While maximum torque wasn't produced until 4000 rpm the torque curve was relatively flat from 2500 to 4000 rpm. Rolls-Royce was contracted to manufacture the engines, but the agreement was cancelled when Tastevin asked Rolls to guarantee the power output of every engine produced. Rolls refused to do this for an engine not of their own design.

Using experience gained designing and building frames for his own cars, Lawrence laid out a central chassis of square-section steel tubes with sheet-metal shear-panels for reinforcement and box-section members for additional strength. Two fuel tanks were originally contained in the sills.

The front suspension used vertically mounted coil-over-damper units mounted inboard and operated through rocker-style upper arms. The lower arms were conventional wide-based wishbones.

The rear suspension was a De Dion system with coil springs, four trailing links and a Panhard rod. The differential was from the Rover P6B (also known as the Rover 3500) with a crown-and-pinion made by Hewland, but with an additional nose-piece that gave the option of two rear-axle ratios; a high-numeric ratio for in town and a low-numeric ratio for high-speed cruising. A lever in the cockpit allowed the ratio to be changed at speed.

Braking was by a dual-circuit power assisted Lockheed and Girling brake system with 12-inch vented disks in front and 10-inch solid disk brakes mounted inboard in the rear.

The prototype first ran at Silverstone in 1968. The drivetrain for the car comprised a 3-litre Martin V8 driving through a Triumph TR4 overdrive gearbox. The car weighed 1070 kg. Bodywork on this prototype is attributed variously to Maurice Gomm, Robert (Bob) Curl or Williams & Pritchard.

A second prototype was built with all-aluminum bodywork by Williams & Pritchard. The transmission was a ZF 5-speed manual box. This car was registered as a Deep-Sanderson and given registration number 2 ARX. After its use as a development mule it continued to be used as a personal car by team member Colin James, after which the car was acquired by Peter Dodds, another member of the Monica team. (Chris Lawrence also personally owned a production Monica for several years. The car was sold from his estate.)

Tastevin was not satisfied with the look of either of these first two prototypes, pictures of which still exist and which have caused the cars to have been compared to an oversized Panhard CD.

In 1969 Tudor (Tony) Rascanu, a Romanian exile and former shop manager for Vignale in Italy, is entrusted with the job of completely restyling the car for a third prototype. He was not allowed to make any modifications to Lawrence's chassis.

The third prototype meets with Tastevin's approval. With hidden headlamps in a sloping aerodynamic nose and wide horizontal taillights it was much more appealing than the previous two attempts. Rascanu, sadly, dies in 1970 before he can see the results of his work.

French coachbuilder Henri Chapron (whose own Grand Routier, the Citroën SM Opéra debuted at the same show where the Monica would first be shown) was hired to create a full-scale wooden mockup of the restyled car, which was then sent to Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale in Turin to be executed in steel. Vignale, however, sold his company to DeTomaso in December 1969 and died three days later in an automobile accident while driving a Maserati.

With the sudden loss of Vignale as a resource, production of a fourth prototype was quickly contracted to another British company by the name of Airflow Streamlines. The bodywork for this car is again done in light alloy, but as the weight savings amount to only 30 or 40 kilograms, plans for production cars to be bodied in steel remain unchanged. The taillights on this car came from a Volvo 140, but they were quickly designed out in the next revision.

In an exclusive article in the July 1st 1974 issue of l'Auto-Journal, writers Jean Mistral and Gilles Guérithaut published a preview of the Monica's debut at the upcoming Salon de l'Auto in October along with an interview with Tastevin. Among the things the founder revealed were his plans to build 400 cars per year.

As promised, the Monica made its first public appearance at the Salon de l'Auto show in Paris in October 1972. The car on display was powered by a Martin V8 and was called the Monica 350.

David Coward was brought in from James Young after the Salon de l'Auto in 1972. He refines Rascanu’s design by lowering the side window line and deepening the windscreen to give the car a more contemporary appearance. The body is also lowered three inches between the floor pan and the roof and four inches are added to the width. In its final form the car is even more attractive. Observers have drawn comparisons between the final shape of the Monica and many of its contemporaries. The front view has been compared to the Maserati Indy and Lotus Elan +2, the rear to the Ferrari 365 GT 2+2, and the side elevation to the Aston Martin DBS.

At some point during development Tastevin invited racing driver and automotive journalist Paul Frère to "lend a hand" in sorting out the car's handling. He would also be the person who wrote the semi-official obituary for the Monica car.

In an attempt to resolve reliability problems with the high-revving Martin V8 one of the engines was sent to Virgilio Conrero in Italy. The famous Alfa mechanic told the factory “this engine is a trap that will never work under normal traffic conditions”.

At the beginning of 1973 the decision was finally made to abandon the Martin V8 and adopt a North American engine, specifically the Chrysler LA series V8.

The first choice was to use the 5.9 (5898cc) litre "360" version to make a Monica 590. At least one car was built with this engine, although the dimensions attributed to it by various sources differ, sometimes significantly, from those of the subsequent 560 model. In particular the 590 is listed as being 630mm shorter with a 100mm shorter wheelbase and 140 kg heavier. It was also more powerful, the engine being rated at 315 bhp (235 kW) and 332 lb·ft (450 N·m).

The 5.9-litre engine was not to be the final choice. Instead it would be the 5.6-litre (5563 cc) "340" that would be installed in the Monica. Engines destined for use in Monicas were also specially tuned by Racer Brown in the United States.

Modifications to the engines included revised camshafts, pistons, valves, springs, and oil pump. A new air intake fed a 4-barrel Holly R6909 carburetor. The compression ratio was 10.5:1. All of these changes combined to bring output to 285 bhp (213 kW)@5400 rpm and 333 lb·ft (451 N·m)@4000 rpm.

Although time was limited, the changes needed to fit a large iron-block V8 into a space designed for a compact all-alloy engine were relatively minor. They included fabricating the requisite mounts, having two new vents let into the fenders and, on later models, two additional grilles fitted to the hood.

The revised and renamed Monica 560 receives its world premier at the Geneva Auto Show in March 1973 and is seen again at the Paris Auto Show in October. The car is priced at 164,000 francs (roughly US$34,000 at the time), at a time when a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow costs 165,000 francs.

The Car

With the long development period finally at an end, production gets underway in Balbigny.

The car is built on Lawrence's steel-tube and sheet metal chassis. The body is Rascanu's design with Coward's revisions executed entirely in steel. Five exterior colours are available: Atlantic Blue, Azure Blue, Purple Amaranth, Chestnut Brown and Beige Sand. The final version of Lawrence's rocker-arm/De Dion suspension is automatically leveling, and the car sits on four Michelin 215/70VR-12 Collection tires mounted on 14 inch alloy wheels. The original sill-mounted fuel tanks have been replaced with a single tank under the floor of the trunk due to regulatory restrictions

Power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering is connected to an adjustable steering column that is topped by a custom Motolita steering wheel.

The interior of the car is where the opulence of Tastevin's creation is most apparent.

The seats are upholstered in Connolly leather available in three colours: Marine, Havana, and Champagne. The floor is covered in Shetland wool carpeting. The dashboard is finished in burl elm wood and suede.

The state of the car is monitored by a brace of custom Jaeger instruments all bearing the Monica name. Gauges include a speedometer, tachometer, oil temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge, ammeter, water temperature gauge, fuel gauge, and clock.

The windows are electrically operated. The dash includes a High-fidelity sound system with integrated tape recorder and player. The standard air-conditioning system includes separate controls for the rear seat passengers. A feature unique to the Monica was it's electrically operated doors, that open and close silently at the touch of a button. In the trunk is a complete set of custom luggage.

With a quoted top speed of 240 km/h the Monica 560 could lay claim to being "The fastest sedan in the world."

Photos from the period indicate that a future coupe and convertible were already being planned.

The End

The Monica 560 makes its last public appearance at the Paris Auto Salon Paris Auto Show in October 1974. On February 7 of 1975 Tastevin announces the cessation of production and closes the company.

Many factors contributed to the failure of the car. It endured a seven-year long gestation period. The car was remarkably expensive while lacking the kind of reputation or recognition enjoyed by other more established marques in this market. It faced competition from many similar-sized low-volume manufacturers. Finally, it had the misfortune to be officially released just as the first major oil crisis made fuel prices jump and large expensive motorcars less desirable.

While some references credit the company with having produced twenty-two prototypes but only eight production vehicles, other sources say that as few as seven or as many as twenty-five prototypes were built and as many as seventeen production cars.

The production assets of the Monica company and as many as thirty cars in various stages of completion were sold to French race driver and Formula One team owner Guy Ligier. Ligier did not resume production.

In April 1976 Motor Sport magazine reported an announcement by Bob Jankel of Panther Westwinds that his company and C.J. Lawrence and Co. would resume production of the Monica. C.J. Lawrence and Co. would manufacture sub-assemblies and Panther would assemble, paint and trim the car. Power was elsewhere rumored to be coming from a Jaguar V12 motor. Production would move from Balbigny to Surrey. Nothing came of these plans.

Six production Monicas are known to exist. At least three of the prototypes are reported to remain in Britain.

Literature