Now there's a name to conjure with! De Tomaso is back - and it's first new model will debut on Tuesday (March 1) at the Geneva motor show.
Those of us who still wear anoraks will recall Argentinian Alejandro de Tomaso and the company he founded in Italy in 1959 to build sexy supercars with simple, reliable big-block American V8 power.
Best-known for the iconic Pantera, the company folded in 2004 but has now been revived by ex-Fiat boss Gianmario Rossignolo, who has ambitious plans for a three-car range, starting with the SLS (Sport Luxury Sedan) - actually a big crossover - you see here.
Styled by PininFarina, it will be available in two variants - one with a 220kW V6 and the other with a 405kW V8 - each with all-wheel drive. The Stuttgart Mafia will doubtless be pleased to hear that it will not be marketed as an SLS; the car's real name will be announced at the Geneva presentation.
The SLS will be followed by a luxury sedan and a sports coupé, all built in aluminum using a modular construction technology called Univis, which requires only about 30 dies to produce a bodyshell.
Rossignolo plans to build about 3000 a year of the big crossover and the sedan, and about 2000 coupés, in a former PininFarina workshop at Grugliasco near Turin and at De Tomaso's original Livorno plant. The new plant already employs about 900 people in a body shop, paint shop and final assembly facility, and the Livorno plant will employ another 150.