Momo Mirage; an Italian car for American customers ...

[Wouter Melissen]

Dear Ultimatecarpage.com visitor,

The September 1971 issue of Road & Track magazine prominently featured the Momo Mirage on the front cover. The subtitle stated: "An Italian car for American customers." The Road & Track scoop was the culmination of nearly four years of development. The ambitious project was the brainchild of former Briggs Cunningham team manager Alfredo Momo and New York real-estate man Peter S. Kalikow. Momo supplied the experience and contacts while Kalikow provided the all important funding. In the feature article on the Mirage, Road & Track reporter Pete Coltrin was very enthusiastic of what he described as an 'Europeanized ponycar.' So why have we heard so little since of this promising new entry into the market? After about three cars were completed Momo and Kalikow were faced with the harsh realities of the early 1970s that saw prices of material increase considerably and demand for gas-guzzling cars decline at a similar rate. This was a real shame as the Momo Mirage was not just another Italo-American hybrid. The car featured a well refined chassis, ample interior space and a fit and finish that would have rivaled any of Europe's luxury manufacturers.
After spending around $500,000 of his own money, Kalikow pulled the plug and returned to his father's real-estate business. He has since assembled a highly impressive collection of 1950s and '60s Ferraris. Fortunately he has not forgotten about his earlier venture and recently brought the second Mirage (the production prototype) out of hiding. It had never been shown in public before it made an appearance at the recent Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. This gave us ample opportunity to take a closer look at this very rare but highly impressive four-seater coupe. It has resulted in a 18-shot gallery, which illustrates a detailed description of the car's genesis.

Enjoy the links:

1971 - 1972 Momo Mirage - Images, Specifications and Information

Regards,
Wouter Melissen

[cmcpokey]

you did feature it... nice.

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by cmcpokey

you did feature it... nice.

Of course. It's a great car.

[f6fhellcat13]

I had never heard of this before.
An interesting car to say the least.
Great update, as well.

[AKBARR]

Awesome. Finally got to see car 1002 in person at the American Manhasset show in Long Island alongside of the 1:1 Wooden Buck.

After reading more about the car and the number of cars produced, there seems that only (5) Momos are accounted for.

According to a Wouter's article on the MOMO "...Kalikow had taken delivery of two complete cars and parts for another three cars. One of these was a complete shell without running, whereas the other two were barely assembled. A sixth car was also paid for but remained in Italy. "

Where's the sixth car? Is it still in Italy?

According to a German Wikkipedia (

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momo_Mirage

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momo_Mirage
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momo_Mirage

) page it was stolen.

Has Peter Kalikow ever tried to track down the missing MOMO(s)?