11 European Cars You’ve Never Heard Of Before

When Alejandro de Tomaso, father of the Pantera, needed a business partner for a car named Bigua in 1996, he went to an American car importer named Qvale, who took care of the American import of Panteras and Maserati vehicles. The idea was to create “an Italian TVR” and the result was the De Tomaso Mangusta, a revived name from the 1970s. It sounded amazing on paper.

The chassis was designed by former Formula 1 designer Enrique Scalabroni, who has Williams F1 and Scuderia Ferrari on his résumé. The body design is by Marcello Gandini from Lamborghini and Ferrari, including the unique folding roof. Ford supplied the 4.6-liter V8, and the car received praise from auto journalists in 1999 for its style, leather interior, and handling.

The business relationship had already failed, however, and then the head of Qvale decided to label it with his company name, which no one outside of the automotive industry had heard of. Qvale had put the majority of the money into the project, and only 284 cars were sold in the end.