Industry Automotive Products Automobiles Owner Klaas Zwart Headquarters United Kingdom | Key people Geoff Finlay ceo Website Ascari.net Founded 1995 Type of business Private | |
Carros ascari ascari cars
Ascari Cars Ltd. is a British automobile manufacturer that is based in Banbury, England, and founded by Dutch millionaire Klaas Zwart. The company is named after Alberto Ascari (1918–1955) who was the first double Formula One world champion. Ascari also manages a racetrack, Race Resort Ascari.
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History
Ascari Cars was established in Dorset 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 in northern Oxfordshire. Ascari'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.
Ascari Race Resort
In 2000 Ascari began developing a racetrack near Ronda in southern Spain. The 5.5 km anticlockwise track includes recreations of famous corners from around the world, and may also be configured as three short tracks. Corners are named after drivers such as Martin Brundle, Bertrand Gachot and Ayrton Senna.
The track and associated resort opened in 2002, with road and racing cars including former Formula One machinery. The resort operates on a membership basis whereby members can use the pits and garages. Open days offer the public track experience in cars such as Lotus Elise, BMW 325i and Radical.
The resort hosted the launch party for Gran Turismo 6 and is featured in the game.