Sports car comeback: De Tomaso is coming back

A alternative to the production option at Pininfarina Rossignolo is also interested in the unpopular Fiat Termini Imerese plant in Sicily, where Fiat production is to cease in 2011 according to plans by Fiat boss Marchionne. According to the Italian Ministry of Economic Affairs, De Tomaso has the backing of the Italian government for a factory takeover. In addition to the location, De Tomaso also wants to take over all 1,400 workers.

Another sports car is to come in 2013

Rossignolo was the first to announce a new one in Milan Model of the brand is offering an elegant and sporty off-road vehicle for around 120,000 euros. The car is to be presented at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. A year later, the company wants to show a sedan and in 2013 a sports car that should be open and closed. With all three model series Rossignolo does not want to produce more than 10,000 cars per year. The vehicles should not use platforms and bodies from other manufacturers, but should be made of aluminum according to their own construction principle. That will get by with fewer parts and save both costs and weight. The new off-road vehicle, for example, will weigh less than 1,000 kilograms and be 30 to 50 percent ahead of the competition.

Engines from PSA, Ford or GM

For the engines, however, Rossignolo relies on proven technology. 'We are negotiating with Peugeot and Citroën in Europe and Ford and General Motors in the USA,' said the investor. He is looking for V6 and V8 units, diesels and gasoline engines with outputs of up to around 500 hp. 'Nobody needs more.' Hybrid or electric drives, however, are not provided.

The Modena-based sports car brand De Tomaso was founded in 1959 by the Argentine Alejandro De Tomaso. It became famous with vehicles like the Mangusta or Pantera and in good years sold more cars than its neighbors Lamborghini or Ferrari. In the course of the oil crisis, however, De Tomaso got into turbulence and had to stop deliveries every now and then. After a few less successful comeback attempts in the 1990s, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2004.