According to Reuters, Italy’s Industry Ministry has confirmed that BMW is one of the parties interested in buying the defunct De Tomaso brand, with a sale process targeted to open by mid-October.
“We had confirmation that talks with possible Italian partners (who would buy the structural assets) and with BMW continue,” said UILM trade union secretary Giuseppe Anfuso, after a meeting attended by ministry, union and local government representatives of the Piedmont region and the city of Grugliasco recently.
However, it was only in May that a BMW spokesman told Reuters the German company had no interest in De Tomaso or any of its sites.
De Tomaso’s heyday was in the 1960s and 1970s, when it brought out Ford V8-engined sports cars such as the Mangusta and Pantera (Elvis Presley was an owner). The Modena, Italy-based firm folded in 2004 and attempts at reviving it have so far been unsuccessful. Earlier this year, plans to build a luxury crossover SUV in an ex-Pininfarina factory failed to materialise.
We can only speculate as to what would happen if BMW bought De Tomaso. A 21st-century Pantera with a BMW V8 engine would be great, but imagine a De Tomaso-badged X5…
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Daihatsu not interested..?
Toyota not interested instead …
hmmmm
How bout Myvi De Tomaso edition, lagi best, lagi cun, lagi tomato…
DRB tamau beli ka ini buah tomato? hehe :P
never heard of this brands….
buy name only for what? even if detomaso badged x5, underneath it is still a bmw x5, with a surely overblown price tag just because it was badged detomaso…
Never heard, maksudnya u tak tahu apa2 pasal kereta.. Hhahaah
what the heck first time heard this brand…sound like food name..
then you’re not car enthusiast.
BMW should buy down Detomaso & supercars like the Mangusta & Pantera,BMW needs a supercar company.Just like what Audi did with Lamborghiniwith the Gallardo Murcielago & Aventador.
BMW should buy DeLorean! Back to the future baby.
Never heard this brand ? Never mind. But bet u have seen some fake/converted Daihatsu Charade De Tomaso on the road few years back. Very hard see one today…