It may look nothing like a malaise-era Mopar, but under its Swiss-Italian sheet metal the 1977-80 Monteverdi is a Dodge Aspen.

Peter Monteverdi and Chrysler power have a long history together. The Swiss specialty car maker’s elegant continental GT, the 375 High Speed of 1967-76, was powered by a Chrysler 440 CID V8. His prototype sports cars, the Palm Beach and the Hai 450, were powered by Mopars as well.

But with the OPEC oil embargo underway and the big-block V8 nearing the end of production, Monteverdi selected a more rational package for the Sierra, a stylish but practical (if expensive) four-door sedan. Here he borrowed the 318 CID V8 from the Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare—and in fact, much of the car. The chassis, running gear, floor pan, and basic body shell are Aspen/Volare, too.

Carrozzeria Fissore near Turin constructed the distinctive front and rear end treatments, retaining the Chrysler doors, cowl, and internal structure. In the fine Italian coachbuilding tradition, trim components were borrowed from numerous makes: headlamps were Fiat, tail lamps Renault. Cabins were totally redone in luxurious leather, and a Euro-style instrument cluster was crafted for the Chrysler dash assembly. For reasons unclear, the Aspen transverse torsion-bar front end was abandoned in favor of a coil-spring setup. 

While the Sierra is pure Michigan under the skin, few Americans have ever heard of it, let alone seen one. That’s not so surprising, as only 20 were built. The production total includes two Cabriolets, one of them for built for the 1978 Geneva Motor Show, and one station wagon. Some sources say five wagons were built, but while we wouldn’t know for sure either way, that seems unlikely. Available photos show a single wagon, which currently resides in the Monteverdi private museum in Binningen, Switzerland.