Someone is trying to resurrect Hispano Suiza

We are used to seeing huge and powerful Hispano Suizas at Goodwood – on the Cartier concours lawn and powering Bolster Cup cars. The prewar 9.4-litre V12-powered J12 is rightly famous as a luxury car giant. But after the J12 the Barcelona-based company reverted to its aerospace roots and new cars became just a dream.

It was a dream that wouldn’t go away though and in recent years there have been several attempts to kickstart Hispano Suiza car production, most recently in 2010. That centred on a carbon-fibre rebodied Audi R8 with a twin-supercharged 740bhp and a price of £635,000. We saw it as a prototype at Geneva that year for the first and last time.

We are told the new Hispano Suiza (name unknown) is going to be more long lived, as the “Hispano Suiza family brand returns to making prestigious cars on a global scale.” The new model will be a “100 per cent electric supercar” to be manufactured in Barcelona.

Family brand? The parent Spanish group Peralada may be more famous for its wine and its resorts, but its Hispano Suiza company is owned and run by the fourth generation of the Suqué Mateu family which established the innovative company in 1904.

Miguel Suqué Mateu, great grandson of the founder and president of Hispano Suiza, says he wants to “succeed in realising a dream we have had for years, seeing once again the Hispano Suiza on the road, all around the world.

“Back in 1900 Hispano Suiza built the first electric car but the prototype was never industrially manufactured. Now, 119 years later, Hispano Suiza has its first 100 per cent electric car, the realisation of my great grandfather's dream”.

The stork (Hispano Suiza’s traditional radiator mascot) may yet soar again. The shadowy car in this first teaser picture may not reveal much, but it has a streamlined elegance to it and the proportions look good, so you never know…