Ascari Cars on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Ascari Cars Ltd. was a British
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded ...
manufacturer based in Banbury
Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census.
Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...
, England, and founded by Klaas Zwart. Zwart was the former chairman and majority owner of oil and gas company Petroline, which designed and manufactured its own downhole technology. Petroline was purchased by Weatherford in 1999.
The company was named after Alberto Ascari
Alberto Ascari (; 13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver and a two time Formula One World Champion. He was a multitalented racer who competed in motorcycle racing before switching to cars. Ascari won consecutive world titles ...
(1918–1955), the first double winner of the World Championship of Drivers
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
.
The company filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Ascari’s official site was also shut down, and it hasn’t been updated since 2009.
History
Ascari Cars was established inDorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
in 1994. Its first limited-edition car, the Ascari Ecosse, was launched in 1998.
In 2000 Ascari Cars built a new facility in Banbury in northern Oxfordshire. Ascari Car's second car, the Ascari KZ1
The Ascari KZ1 is a sports car made by Ascari Cars. The car is named from the initials of Ascari's owner Klaas Zwart, a wealthy Dutch businessman.
The KZ1 made its worldwide debut at the 2005 Autosport International with a price tag of £235,0 ...
, was developed at Banbury, which also housed Team Ascari's racing assets. The premises are now occupied by Haas F1 Team.
Due to declining sales of the Ascari KZ1 and a large amount of money to produce cars, Ascari suffered heavy financial losses before making the difficult decision to file for bankruptcy in 2010.
Road cars
Race cars
See also
*List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom
:''This list is incomplete. You can help by adding correctly sourced information about other manufacturers.''
As of 2018 there are approximately 35 active British car manufacturers and over 500 defunct British car manufacturers. This page lists ...
References