TURIN, Italy — Former Fiat executive Gianmario Rossignolo has acquired the rights to the De Tomaso brand and hopes to revive the marque on a new three-model range, beginning with a luxury SUV called the De Tomaso Tosca that is slated to debut at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show.
Rossignolo, who once headed Fiat's Lancia division and is a former chairman of Telecom Italia, will attempt to revive the dormant De Tomaso brand, established 50 years ago by one-time Argentine racing driver Alejandro de Tomaso, through his company GMI (for Grandi Marchi Italiani, or Great Italian Brands).
According to European press reports, Rossignolo also has acquired control of Pininfarina's Grugliasco factory near here. Pininfarina is being tapped to design the aluminum-bodied Tosca, according to the Web site Italiaspeed.com.
The Tosca will be followed by a De Tomaso coupe and sedan. Rossignolo, 79, envisions annual production eventually reaching 8,000 units.
Rossignolo unsuccessfully bid two years ago for the rights to Bertone, and earlier attempted to revive the Isotta Fraschini brand, according to Automotive News.
Rossignolo's sons Gianluca and Eduardo reportedly will join their father at GMI in overseeing the proposed De Tomaso revival.
Founded in 1959, De Tomaso produced a series of low-volume sports cars, notably the 1966 Mangusta and the 1970 Pantera, designed by Ghia's Tom Tjaarda. (De Tomaso owned the Ghia brand briefly from 1967-'70, when it was sold to Ford.)
De Tomaso also controlled Maserati from 1976-'93, during which time the company built the ill-starred Chrysler TC by Maserati, and it owned Italian motorcycle manufacturer Moto Guzzi from 1973-'93.
Alejandro de Tomaso died in 2003, and the company was put into liquidation in 2004.
Inside Line says: A famous brand with a checkered past. But is it really worth reviving? — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
Add A Comment »
sinna46 says:
02:46 PM, 12/22/2010
I know this is a old article, but Tom Tjaarda did not design the Mangusta as stated in the picture. The Mangusta was penned by Giorgietto Giugiaro, although he did work for Ghia.
cz75 says:
08:25 PM, 11/20/2009
They'd better continue with using cheap, reliable US-made V-8 powertrains. The world needs more exotics like a hole in the head and overcoming some of the buyers' fears of a maintenance nightmare with expensive and hard-to-find parts would be an advantage.