AC Cars, originally incorporated as Auto Carriers Ltd., is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car makers founded in Britain. As a result of bad financial conditions over the years, the company was renamed or liquidated many times until its present form. In 2022, the new corporate structure began the production of new AC Cobra models, with a slightly modified structure to adapt it to modern safety and technology requirements and obtain the European road homologation certificate.
The AC Cobra, sold in the United States as the Shelby Cobra and AC Shelby Cobra, is a sports car manufactured by British company AC Cars, with a Ford V8 engine. It was produced intermittently in both the United Kingdom and later the United States since 1962.
Giorgetto Giugiaro is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont. Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002. He was awarded the Compasso d'Oro industrial design award six times.
Carrozzeria Ghia SpA is an Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firm, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as "Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio". The headquarters are located at Corso Guglielmo Marconi, 4, Turin. The company is currently owned by Ford Motor Company and focused on the European market through Ford's subsidiary in the region.
De Tomaso Automobili Ltd. is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded 1959 by Alejandro de Tomaso in Modena. It originally produced various sports prototypes and auto racing vehicles, including a Formula One car for Frank Williams Racing Cars in 1970. Most of the funding for the automaker came from Amory Haskell Jr.
The Lincoln Versailles is a mid-size luxury car that was marketed by Lincoln from the 1977 to 1980 model years. The first Lincoln introduced outside of the full-size segment, the Versailles is a rebranded version of the Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch. Replacing the Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia, the model line was introduced as a competitor to the Cadillac Seville.
The Shelby Daytona Coupe is an American sports-coupé. It is related to the Shelby Cobra roadster, loosely based on its chassis and drive-train developed and built as an advanced evolution. It was engineered and purpose built for auto racing, specifically to take on Ferrari and its 250 GTO in the GT class. The original project had six Shelby Daytona Coupes built for racing purposes between 1964 and 1965, as Carroll Shelby was reassigned to the Ford GT40 project to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, again to beat Ferrari in the highest level prototype class. With the Shelby Daytona, Shelby became the first American constructor to win a title on the international scene in the FIA International Championship for GT Manufacturers in 1965. In 2014, the first Cobra Daytona Coupe became the first vehicle recorded under a U.S. federal program for documenting historically important national treasures.
Qvale was an independent Italian car manufacturer founded in 2000 by American Bruce Qvale, the son of businessman Kjell Qvale. Qvale's sole product was the Mangusta, originally the De Tomaso Biguà. Kjell Qvale founded British Motors in 1947 in San Francisco, California and was a well known importer of European luxury cars. Kjell was the first distributor for Jaguar on the west coast and one of the founders of the San Francisco Auto Show.
The De Tomaso Pantera is a mid-engine sports car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer De Tomaso from 1971 to 1992. Italian for "Panther", the Pantera was the automaker's most popular model, with over 7,000 manufactured over its twenty-year production run. More than three quarters of the production was sold by American Lincoln-Mercury dealers from 1972 to 1975; after this agreement ended De Tomaso kept manufacturing the car in ever smaller numbers into the early 1990s.
The De Tomaso Vallelunga is a mid-engine sports car produced from 1964 until 1967. It was the first road going automobile manufactured by the company.
The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is a mid-engine sports car built by Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It was the fastest commercially available car for the standing kilometer upon its introduction. 18 examples were produced between 1967 and 1969. "Stradale" is a term often used by Italian car manufacturers to indicate a street-legal version of a racing car; indeed the 33 Stradale was derived from the Tipo 33 sports prototype. Built in an attempt by Alfa Romeo to make some of its racing technology available to the public, it was also the most expensive automobile for sale to the public in 1968 at US$17,000.
The Iso Grifo is a limited production grand tourer manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A. between 1965 and 1974. Intended to compete with Grand Touring offerings from Ferrari and Maserati, it used a series of American power trains and components supplied by Chevrolet and Ford. Styling was done by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone, while the mechanicals were the work of Giotto Bizzarrini.
Shelby American, Inc. is an American high performance automobile company founded by driver Carroll Shelby. The Shelby American name has been used by several legally distinct corporations founded by Shelby since his original shop in Venice, California began operation in 1962. The current iteration is a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International, Inc., a holding company formed in 2003. Carroll Shelby International's other wholly owned subsidiary is Carroll Shelby Licensing, which licenses the name and trademarks associated with Shelby to other companies. Shelby American was the first automobile manufacturer in the state of Nevada. Shelby American manufactures component automobiles, including replicas of the small-block and large-block AC Cobras, the Shelby GT350 and the GT500 Super Snake. Since 2005, Shelby American has released new models each year.
The Qvale Mangusta is a sports car produced in limited numbers by the Italian automaker Qvale between 1999 and 2002. During development and very early production, it was developed from the De Tomaso Biguá concept car shown to the general public at the 1996 Geneva Motor Show. When the car started production, it was renamed De Tomaso Mangusta before De Tomaso became disassociated from the project and all subsequent cars received Qvale badging.
The Maserati 5000 GT is a 2-door coupé car, made by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati from 1959–1966. A total of thirty-four were produced with bodies made by eight different Italian coach builders.
The Maserati Indy is a four-seater fastback grand tourer produced by the Italian car manufacturer Maserati from 1969 to 1975. It was the first car produced by Maserati under Citroën ownership.
Tom Tjaarda was an American automobile designer noted for his work on a broad range of automobiles — estimated at over eighty — from exotic sports cars including the Ferrari 365 California and De Tomaso Pantera to high-volume popular cars including the first generation Ford Fiesta (1972) and the Fiat 124 Spider (1966).
Peter Elbert Brock is an American automotive and trailer designer, author and photojournalist, who is best known for his work on the Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe and Corvette Sting Ray.
The De Tomaso Sport 5000 was a short-lived sports racing car built by De Tomaso in 1965. Fitted with a 289 cu in (4,736 cc) Ford V8 engine, the Sport 5000 was initially designed to be used as a Grand Tourer; however, only one car was ever built of the planned fifty, meaning that it competed solely as a sports prototype in just one race, the 1966 World Sportscar Championship Mugello 500 km.
The Porsche Tapiro is a concept car built by Porsche in 1970. It was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and has a traditional 1970s wedge design, which critics say somewhat resembles that of the De Tomaso Mangusta. The chassis is based on the Porsche 914/6, and it features gullwing-style doors.
