After 70 Years Hispano Suiza Launching All-Electric Carmen in March
At the Geneva Motor show next month, along with new Mercedes CLA, an updated BMW 7 Series, and Volvo’s Polestar 2, we will be in luck to see the newest addition to the Hispano suiza fleet. The car will be all electric, Hispano Suiza says, a Grand Tourer inspired by the kind of things the company made in the 1930s.
The car will be called the Carmen, named for a granddaughter of the company’s co-founder. The company released its teaser image of the up top, but the company said in a press release that the car was designed in Barcelona and will be built there as well. The Hispano Suiza family brand wants to return to making prestigious cars on a global scale.
Miguel Suqué Mateu, great-grandson of the founder and current president of Hispano Suiza Fábrica de Automóviles S.A. says, “Succeeding in realizing a dream we had for years, seeing once again the Hispano Suiza on the road, all around the world.” And adds, “Back in 1900, when Hispano Suiza started, it built the first electric car in the world, but the prototype was never industrially manufactured. Now, 119 years later, in March 2019, Hispano Suiza has its first 100% electric car, offering great performance and manufactured in Barcelona, the realization of my great grandfather’s dream.”
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The company will design, develop and manufactured the electric Carmen in Spain. It will be handcrafted based on a super-stiff, hand-laid carbon fibre monocoque(as seen in the picture above). While the new model takes inspiration from the Dubonnet Xenia, one of the elegant and luxurious vehicles built by Hispano Suiza in 1938, development and build of the Carmen and its custom-designed electric powertrain will be led by the company’s production partner, QEV Technologies. QEV specializes in design, engineering, R&D and production for Formula-E teams, supercar brands and mainstream car manufacturers.
Hispano Suiza is a Barcelona-based historic car brand owned by the fourth generation of the Suqué Mateu family. Between 1904 and 1946, Hispano Suiza built more than 12,000 luxury performance cars and 50,000 airplane engines.
“Carmen” electric car first look will be revealed in the Geneva show, which will be held on 7 March 2019.
