Defeated twice in his attempts to buy Carrozzeria Bertone S.p.A., Gianmario Rossignolo has signed a preliminary deal to rent and run one of Pininfarina S.p.A. three plants.
Rossignolo, 79, a flamboyant executive who worked at Fiat and Swedish ball-bearing maker SKF, needs the Pininfarina plant for its Innovation in Auto Industry S.p.A. (IAI) project.
The IAI business plan, which Rossignolo has been promoting the past four years, calls for building a three-model range of aluminum vehicles based on an innovative construction technology called Univis.
According to Rossignolo, Univis is a space-frame technology that requires just about 30 dies for building a vehicle.
IAI plans to build a crossover, a sedan and a coupe, with the first model scheduled to debut in 2011. The cars may wear the De Tomaso brand.
Founded in 1959 in Modena, Italy, by former Argentinean racing driver Alejandro De Tomaso, De Tomaso Automobili Modena S.p.A. was liquidated in 2004. The brand is for sale at the Modena bankruptcy court.
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