GENEVA 2011 - De Tomaso marque is back. SLC sedan teased ahead of the show - AllCarIndex

GENEVA 2011 - De Tomaso marque is back. SLC sedan teased ahead of the show

Feb 18, 2011

de tomaso - the legendary italian marque is about revive with the world premiere of the brand new automobile at this year geneva motor show.

it is worth reminding that the original marque was established in 1959 in modena by alejandro de tomaso. starting with formula 1 cars, he built he built the first roadcar in 1963. it was the vallelunga powered by  mid-mounted ford cortina engine. it is an extremely rare model with approx. 50 units made.

following this was the new model named mangusta equipped with 4272 cc ford v8. about 400 examples of this model have been built. 

it was replaced by the pantera in 1971. the new model was powered by a larger ford v8 of 5763 cc.

the less known models of de tomaso include the mustela coupe of 1969, deauville sedan available with either 4.7 or 5.7 ford v8 engine and a longchamp coupe.

de tomaso company also owned maserati from 1976 to 1990 when it sold the company to fiat. 

in the 1990s two new models were released: the guara (bmw v8-engined) and the bigua (ford v8-engined). th latter model was manufactured under the qvale brand from 2000. the company was active until 2004 when it went into liquidation, but it is said despite this the cars were built also in 2005.

it was announced in 2009 that gianmario rossignolo have the plans to revive the brand and now, after a 7-year break, a brand new model - the slc - is teased ahead of the geneva motor show.

designed by pininfarina, the slc is a luxurious sedan which is planned to enter production this year. two wngine options are planned: 500 hp v8 and 200 hp v6. no further information is available, but stay tuned for further updates.

de tomaso automobili has already sent us the following press release:

• during the next geneva auto show (1st march 2011) will be unveiled the new de tomaso car.
• the new de tomaso company, chaired by mr. gianmario rossignolo, will unveil a pininfarina-designed concept for a premium large crossover, dubbed slc (sport luxury car).
• the four-wheel-drive slc is set to go into production this year using two gasoline engines, a 500-hp v-8 and a 300-hp v-6. it will not be sold as the slc, but the final name has not been decided.
• rossignolo plans to build 3,000 units a year of the slc, as well as 3,000 limousines and 2,000 coupes.
• the cars will be built at de tomaso automobili s.p.a. plant, a former pininfarina s.p.a. factory near turin and in the livorno factory by the ex-delphi workers.
• de tomsao's business plan foreseen for a three-model range of aluminum vehicles based on an innovative construction technology called univis. univis requires just about 30 dies to build a vehicle.
• during a 22-year career with fiat group, gianmario rossignolo was a top marketing executive at the company and ceo of the italian automaker's lancia brand from 1977 to 1979.
• in december 2009, rossignolo signed a deal to rent pininfarina's factory in grugliasco, in the western outskirts of turin, one of three pininfarina plants.
• the new de tomaso company will invest 116 million euros in its rebirth project.
• the grugliasco plan currently employs 900 people and includes a body shop, paint shop and final assembly facility, while in the livorno one will be employed 150 people.