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Ascari Cars

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Ascari Cars Ltd.
Company typePrivate
IndustryAutomotive
FoundedDecember 2, 1994;
29 years ago
 (1994-12-02)
Defunct2010; 14 years ago (2010)
FateBankruptcy[1]
Headquarters
Key people
Geoff Finlay ceo
ProductsAutomobiles
OwnerKlaas Zwart
Websiteascari.net

Ascari Cars Ltd. was a British automobile manufacturer based in Banbury, England, and founded by Klaas Zwart.[2] 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.[3]

The company was named after Alberto Ascari (1918–1955), the first double winner of the World Championship of Drivers.[4]

The company filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Ascari's official site was also shut down and has not been updated since 2009.

History

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Ascari Cars was established in Dorset in 1994. Its first limited-edition car, the Ascari Ecosse, was launched in 1998.

In 2000 Ascari Cars built a new facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Ascari Car'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.[5]

Due to declining sales of the Ascari KZ1 and the high cost of production Ascari suffered heavy financial losses; the company filed for bankruptcy in 2010.[6]

Road cars

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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

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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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "10 Things We Just Learned About Ascari and Its Cars". 16 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Ascari Cars, Beautiful beast". The Manufacturer. April 2006. Archived from the original on 14 December 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
  3. ^ "Weatherford International buys Petroline for #104m". The Herald. 3 September 1999. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Here's What Everyone Forgot About Ascari Cars". HotCars. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  5. ^ Three Hundred Club - Cars With a Top Speed Exceeding 300 KM/H: Volume 1 - World's Fastest Production Cars. Dorrance Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4349-5564-7.
  6. ^ "Ascari KZ1: The Forgotten British Supercar Powered by a Deafening BMW M-Tuned V8". AutoEvolution. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.