The resurrection of the De Tomaso brand, which will re-launch with a production ready concept model, is one of the big surprises at this year’s edition of the Geneva Motor Show and its sales are scheduled to begin at the end of 2011. Our 1st impression of this crossover is a copy of the unsuccessful BMW 5-Series GT which shares many design cues. (see BMW GT picture at the end of article)
The vehicle will be produced at the De Tomaso Automobili S.p.A. plant, which is a former Pininfarina S.p.A. factory, located near Turin and in the Livorno factory by ex-Delphi workers. Back in 2004, the bankruptcy surrounded the Italian company and the present moment shows it back to life due to Rossignolo former Fiat executive, Gianmario Rossignolo, who managed to acquire the brand from a Modena bankruptcy court in November 2009. SLC for Sport Luxury Crossover is the initial codename given to the first vehicle of the Italian brand, but the name SLS appears in the De Tomaso latest press release and stands for Sport Luxury Sedan.
It is likely that most car fans will associate the SLS with Mercedes-Benz’s Gullwing-door supercar, but De Tomaso representatives specified that the vehicle was not going to be sold as SLS and its name will be revealed in a few days, during the Geneve press conference on March 1.
A choice of two gasoline engines will be available when the crossover is launched, a 300HP V6 and a 550HPV8, while the engineers announced that they were working on a diesel version. Using an innovative construction technology called Univis, the Pininfarina-designed SLS was built on an aluminum chassis and its architecture will form the base for two more models, which include a coupe and a sports sedan, a project which will make De Tomaso executives spend EUR116 million.
According to the new owner’s official statements, the company’s main objectives are to build 3,000 units of the SLS annually, together with another 2,000 coupes and 3,000 limousines.
