De Tomaso resurrected with SLC concept

Italian brand returns with luxury SLC crossover concept which debuts at Geneva Motor Show.

De Tomaso is back! The Italian luxury car manufacturer will rise from the ashes with the SLC – Sport Luxury Car – concept, which will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show.

Originally founded in 1959, De Tomaso has a somewhat chequered history of building sportscars and luxury saloons. Ultimately going into liquidation in 2004, the De Tomaso name and trademarks were bought up by former Fiat marketing man Gian Mario Rossignolo in 2009.

Backed by an investment group which has invested €116million (£98 million), he plans to relaunch the company with a new business plan, which was presented to the Italian government yesterday, that will see the firm build 8,000 cars per year including 3,000 of the Pininfarina-designed SLC that’s a rival for the BMW 5 Series GT. An SUV and a two-seater coupe are also planned.

The cars will be built at Pininfarina’s Grugliasco plant in Italy from 2012, and feature an innovative aluminium construction called Univis. One of De Tomaso’s original hallmarks was the use of an aluminium backbone chassis in its car’s construction. 

The SLC will get a new name at launch, and be offered with a choice of 296bhp V6 or 542bhp V8 petrol engines, or a 247bhp V6 diesel, powering all four wheels. Prices are set to start at around €85,000 (£71,000).

Mercedes-Benz will end McLaren collaboration

Mercedes-Benz will end its partnership with British sports car manufacturer McLaren when its current agreement expires next year.

The German automaker and the British sports car manufacturer built the SLR premium roadster together.

"The partnership ends in 2009 and it will not be renewed," a Mercedes spokesman said.

Media reports say a new flagship premium roadster called the SLC will replace the SLR in 2010. It will be built by Mercedes' in-house performance unit AMG at the automaker's Sindelfingen plant, near Stuttgart, Germany.

Colin Couchman, a London-based auto analyst for Global Insight said that the German automaker needs this "halo" model to emphasize its reputation for engineering excellence.

"The Mercedes ethos has always been to be at the forefront of technology. In the past few years, the company has been distracted by other areas of its business while neglecting the top end of its lineup. They want to make up for lost time," Couchman said.

Couchman said the SLR's high price limited sales. The car starts at 452,200 euros in Germany. Mercedes has sold 1,577 SLRs worldwide since the car's launch in 2003, according to Global Insight.

The car has also suffered from technical problems. The SLR was one of the models affected in a recall of 680,000 Mercedes cars in 2004, after the electronic braking system failed on some vehicles.

In 2006, Mercedes-Benz USA recalled 433 SLRs that had developed overheating problems.