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Qvale Mangusta


The Qvale Mangusta is a sports car produced in limited numbers in Italy by the automaker Qvale between 2000 and 2002. During development and very early production, it was badged as the De Tomaso Bigu�. After this, other early production cars were badged as the De Tomaso Mangusta (named after the car originally built between 1967 and 1971) before De Tomaso became disassociated from the project and all subsequent cars received Qvale nameplates.

The Mangusta uses a front mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, and is powered by a Ford 4.6L DOHC V8. It was offered with either a BorgWarner T45 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed automatic.

The chassis of the Mangusta was designed by former Formula 1 designer Enrique Scalabroni, who had worked for Dallara, Williams F1, and Scuderia Ferrari. Each chassis is formed of welded laser-cut steel sections, and was then galvanized by Vaccari & Bosi. Body panels were constructed of resin transfer moulding (RTM) plastic by Stratime Cappelo Systems of Villers-Cotter�ts, France; this same company had provided bodywork using the RTM technology for the Alfa Romeo SZ and the Lotus Elan M100. The panels were then painted by Italian company Rovercoat S.p.A. before they were fitted to a car.

The first simple mock-up of the chassis design was done by Casarini and Scalabroni assembling pieces of packing cardboard to show the basic layout. Scalabroni placed emphasis on high torsional rigidity of the chassis, which was particularly important as the final design would not have a structural roof. The design also emphasized safety: significant impact energy during a front-end collision is dissipated by lateral movement of the engine. In tests, the Mangusta chassis showed a torsional stiffness of 1,450 kg/m/deg, which was more than four times the typical stiffness of an open car at the time.

Both the front and rear suspension on the Mangusta uses double wishbones with coil springs and anti-roll bars.

The Mangusta uses a unique roof mechanism referred to as the "roto-top", designed by Gandini and inspired by the folding roof of the TVR Griffith. The roto-top features a center removable panel (similar to normal targa configurations) but also allows the rear section to electrically rotate (on a forward pivot) out of sight into a cavity behind the seats. This transforms the car into a full convertible.

In the Mangusta's interior, most visible surfaces are covered in leather. Visteon Automotive Systems was selected as the supplier for the interior electrics. The alloy wheels for the Mangusta were produced by Antera.

When the Mangusta was transitioned from a prototype to production model, Carlo Gaino of Synthesis Design was contracted to perform any necessary adjustments to the design. Synthesis Design developed two cars: one was the restyling of the production car, the other an evolution based on the reduction of production costs.

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