The "Borghi 01 Diablerets", an alpine gem

Posted by John Mellberg December 12, 2020

The "Borghi 01 Diablerets", an alpine gem

Nestled in the mountains of Switzerland, the village of Diablerets lies at the foot of the Glacier 3000 mountain cable car, and is surrounded by the Col de Mosses range to the north and the Les Diablerets range to the south east, with the 3,123 meter tall Oldenhorn dominating the view.

Les Diablerets Village, below the Glacier

In the midst of this picturesque Alpine setting two brothers, Michel and Philippe Borghi, built an absolutely stunning one-off car with the intent to compete in hill climb and road races. The brothers both had a background in engineering and architecture, which would prove helpful in their efforts. They were only 21 and 22, respectively when they crafted this beautiful beast.

The "Borghi 01 Diablerets", at the 2014 Zurich Classic Car Award

Starting in the mid 1960's, they took note of prevailing trends in the design and construction of sportscars. As such they elected to employ a mid-rear engine configuration with low slung, curvaceous bodywork to minimize drag. They clearly had an artistic eye as well, tastefully combining elements of cars like the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, Lamborghini Miura, Ford GT40, and others in a design that nonetheless stands on its own.

Underneath its gorgeous bodywork, the car employed a box-section tubular spaceframe chassis and tub, fashioned in aluminum. Fuel was carried in its side sills, with tanks integrated into the central tub of the structure. Its wheels were independently sprung on A-Arms and struts, with disc brakes at all corners.

A partially assembled Renault-Gordini 1300

Motivation came from a Conrero tuned Renault-Gordini 1300, which featured a cross-flow head and twin dual-choke 40mm side-draft Solex carburetors. This type of motor was typically found in the 1960's era Renault 8 in plentiful quantities and presented a reliable and inexpensive choice. Despite only making around 100bhp, the motor provided plenty of grunt for a package that only weighs 670kg. That's less than 1500lbs, so the car was a featherweight by modern standards. Performance of the Borghi 01 has been described as "startling".

The "Borghi 01 Diablerets", in procession at
the 2010 Ollon-Villars Historic Hillclimb

The car's overall dimensions are 36 inches high, 69 inches wide, and almost 13 feet in length. This makes for a very low profile and it has a wheelbase of 118 inches, making it significantly longer than contemporaries such as the Alpine-Renault A110. Another interesting detail of the car's construction was its glazing, while the majority of the windows are perspex, the windshield was sourced from a Ferrari 250LM. A part neither cheap nor plentiful.

The Borghi 01 Diablerets made its debut at the 1969 Geneva Motor Show. Although it was likely overshadowed by the introduction of such cars as the Porsche 917, Alfa Romeo 33 Coupe by Pininfarina, and the Peugeot 504 Coupe, the Borghi's creation did not go unnoticed. However, no effort was made to produce the car for commercial sale and only one was built.

The "Borghi 01 Diablerets", making its debut at the 1969 Geneva Motor Show

The brothers both continued tinkering with racecars and competing in various racing events in the ensuing years but, tragically, Philippe Borghi was killed in a racing accident.

The car was lost to time until it received a full restoration in the early 2000's. It began appearing in classic car events and vintage races in 2004, competing well and being enthusiastically received. The car has collected numerous honors since then, including winning best of show at the 2014 Zurich Classic Car Award.