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As well as the rights to the famous badge,
which supposedly superimposes his family
symbol onto the
Argentinean flag, the
liquidators' package will also include some
remaining Pantera and Guará (above) models, with a price of
1.78 million euros being reported. |
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Alejandro De Tomaso is also remembered for
building Formula 1 cars, including machines
used by Frank Williams' team in 1970. |
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Thanks to a deal with Ford the Pantera was
presented at the New York Motor Show in
1970, and it was marketed in the United
States through Ford's Lincoln/Mercury dealer
network meaning that more than 6,000 were
built before Ford withdrew from the deal in
1973. |
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The assets of the former Italian sports car maker De
Tomaso Modena Spa which went into liquidation four years ago,
including the rights to the famous name, will change
hands at the end of this month as the asset sell off
process finally reaches its conclusion.
The De Tomaso
marque was founded in the city of Modena by Alejandro De
Tomaso in 1959, and under the stewardship of its flamboyant
Argentinean businessman founder it enjoyed a roller-coaster
ride until his death in 2003. Car production trickled into 2004,
at which point the family members who had inherited the firm
placed it into liquidation.
The long drawn
out process to
sell off the rights to the De Tomaso name
is expected to be completed on 28th June in the offices of
the clerks Mónica Rossi
in Modena; and as well as the rights to the famous badge,
which supposed superimposes his family symbol onto the Argentinean
flag, the
package will also include rights to the 'Pantera' and 'Guará'
names. A price tag of 1.78 million euros being quoted by the
liquidators.
No prospective buyers has been announced, but several prominent
businessmen have been linked with ambitious plans to revive the famous
brand in the last few years. Meanwhile, on 3rd July, the
former carmaker's real estate will be sold off, comprising
of around 5,000 sq metres of factory and office space, and a
price of 7.63
million euros is being quoted for these fixed assets.
Born in 1928 into a rich cattle farming family in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, the colourful Alejandro De Tomaso reportedly fled
the country after being implicated in a plot to overthrow Juan Domingo Perón.
After some time spent in exile in Uruguay, he married an
American heiress and racer Isabelle Haskell, and himself
turned racing driver, driving for Maserati and OSCA amongst
others in a career that included two Grand Prix starts. In
1959 he founded De Tomaso Automobili in Modena, initially to
build racing cars, first using OSCA engines and the Ford
units. He also remembered for building Formula 1 cars,
including machines used by Frank Williams' team in 1970. The
move into road cars though came in 1963 when he showed off
the Vallelunga Spider, a revolutionary concept featuring an
aluminium chassis, fibreglass body and a 1500cc Ford engine,
at the Turin Motor Show, and two years later it entered
production in coupé form. The Mangusta
followed in 1967, but it was its replacement, the Pantera,
that embedded the De Tomaso's name into the hearts of car
enthusiasts' worldwide when it arrived with a bang in 1970.
Thanks to a deal with Ford the Pantera was presented at the
New York Motor Show in 1970, and it was marketed in the
United States through Ford's Lincoln/Mercury dealer network
meaning that more than 6,000 were built before Ford withdrew
from the deal in 1973 due to poor build quality and the oil
crisis. Pantera production though tricked on until 1991.
De Tomaso bounced back with the Guará in 1993, a true
rear-wheel-drive, two-seat 'barchetta' fitted with a Ford V8
engine which was followed by a coupé version. The Guará
continued in limited production until De Tomaso's death, and
a number of final examples have been assembled and sold off
in the four years since the firm was placed into
liquidation, with a price tag of around 100,000 euros.
De Tomaso, who suffered a stroke in 1993, was - apart from
building cars under his own name - one of the Italian car
industry's most famous and controversial industrialists, and
at points during his long career he owned or controlled the
Vignale and Ghia design studios, motor cycle makers' Benelli
and Moto Guzzi, as well as carmakers' Maserati and Innocenti.
In his final years De Tomaso built the Bigua concept which
became part of the short-lived Qvale firm and he also
attempted a deal with Russian carmaker UAZ to build an SUV
under licence in Italy. Following his death in 2003 the firm
passed on to his widow Isabelle and son Santiago, who remain
in Southern Italy today where they run several hotels.
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