Ascari Cars

For other uses, see Ascari (disambiguation).
Ascari Cars Ltd.
Private
Industry Automotive
Founded 1995
Headquarters Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom
Key people
 Geoff Finlay ceo
Products Automobiles
Owner Klaas Zwart
Website Ascari.net

Ascari Cars Ltd. is a British automobile manufacturer that is based in Banbury, England, and founded by Dutch millionaire Klaas Zwart.[1] The company is named after Alberto Ascari (1918–1955) who was the first double Formula One world champion. Ascari also manages a racetrack, Race Resort Ascari.

History

Ascari Cars was established in Dorset in 1995. Its first limited-edition car, the Ascari Ecosse, was launched in 1998. After the release of the Ecosse, Dutch businessman Klaas Zwart purchased the company.

In 2000 Ascari built a new facility in Banbury in northern Oxfordshire. Ascari's second car, the Ascari KZ1, was developed at Banbury, which also housed Team Ascari's racing assets. The premises are now occupied by Haas F1 Team.

Road cars

An Ascari KZ1 (foreground) and Ecosse on display.
Year Model Details
1995 Ascari FGT Initial concept car created for racing
1998 Ascari Ecosse Production version of the FGT
2003 Ascari KZ1 Production version of A410 Race car
2005 Ascari KZ1-R Road-going version of the KZ1-R GT3 race car
2006 Ascari A10 Upgraded version of the KZ1

Race cars

Year Model Details
1995 Ascari FGT Racing version of the FGT concept, run in the British GT Championship
2000 Ascari A410 Le Mans Prototype
2002 Ascari KZR-1 Upgraded version of the A410
2005 Ascari KZ1-R GT3 Racing version of the KZ1, running in the FIA GT3 class

Ascari Race Resort

In 2000 Ascari began developing a racetrack near Ronda in southern Spain. The 5.5 km anticlockwise track includes recreations of famous corners from around the world, and may also be configured as three short tracks. Corners are named after drivers such as Martin Brundle, Bertrand Gachot and Ayrton Senna.[2]

The track and associated resort opened in 2002, with road and racing cars including former Formula One machinery. The resort operates on a membership basis whereby members can use the pits and garages. Open days offer the public track experience in cars such as Lotus Elise, BMW 325i and Radical.

The resort hosted the launch party for Gran Turismo 6 and is featured in the game.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ascari Cars, Beautiful beast". The Manufacturer. April 2006. Archived from the original on 14 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
  2. ↑ http://www.racingcircuits.info/europe/spain/ascari-race-resort.html#.V5IL3I7F-Lg
  3. ↑ "Ascari Race Resort to Host Gran Turismo 6 Launch Party, Featured in Game". GTPlanet.net. 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2013-10-31.

External links

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