Ascari Cars

Infobox_Company
company_name = Ascari Cars Ltd.
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1995
industry = Automotive
key_people = Geoff Finlay ceo
location_city = flagicon|UK Banbury, Oxfordshire, England
location_country = United Kingdom
products = Automobiles
owner = Klaas Zwart
homepage = [http://www.ascari.net/ www.ascari.net]

Ascari Cars Ltd. is a British automobile manufacturer based in Banbury, United Kingdom. The company was named after Alberto Ascari (1918 - 1955) who was the first double world Formula 1 champion. Besides manufacturing cars, Ascari also manages a racetrack, Race Resort Ascari.

History

Ascari Cars was established in Dorset, England 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. Ascari's second car, the Ascari KZ1, was developed at Banbury, which also housed Team Ascari's racing assets.

Also in 2000, Ascari also began developing a racetrack near Ronda, in southern Spain. The track was accompanied by a resort, with several road and racing cars available to visitors to test, including former Formula One machinery.

In series 10, episode 10 of Top Gear the test track was used to test the BMW M3, the Audi RS4 and the Mercedes C Class 63AMG.

Road cars

* Ascari FGT (1995) - Initial concept car
* Ascari Ecosse (1998) - Production version of the FGT
* Ascari KZ1 (2003)
* Ascari A10 (2006) - Uprated version of the KZ1

Race cars

* Ascari FGT (1995) - Racing version of the FGT concept, run in the British GT Championship
* Ascari A410 (2000) - Le Mans Prototype
* Ascari KZR-1 (2003) - Upgraded version of the A410
* Ascari KZ1R GT3 (2005) - Racing version of the KZ1, running in the FIA GT3 class

External links

* [http://www.ascari.net The Ascari Website]