19 June 2001: MG Rover is expected to announce today that it has acquired Qvale Automotive, the US-Italian group which makes the Mangusta sports car, launched last year.

The Mangusta is manufactured in Modena, the Italian home of the Maserati motoring name. There have been up to now just eight dealers for the car, in Europe and the US.

The Mangusta was designed by Marcello Gandini, who also designed Lamborghini's Countach and Diablo. The car has a classic front-engine, rear-drive configuration and is powered by a Ford-supplied V8 engine of 4.6-litre capacity, rated at 320 horsepower. It returns 0-60 mph times in the low 5.0-second range.

The makers originally planned to achieve production of 500 cars per year in 2001, with sales split primarily between Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. It sells for $69,500.

Qvale is MG Rover's first strategic acquisition since it was set up last year after the Rover brands were sold off by BMW. TW