Hispano Suiza name to return with electric supercar

New model joins the growing ranks of battery-powered supercars; the historic brand's name was last used on a car in 2010.

By Felix Page, Autocar UK

31 Oct 2018

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The car's outline is reminiscent of earlier models associated with the Hispano Suiza name

Historic Spanish car maker Hispano Suiza has announced it will launch an electric supercar at the 2019 Geneva motor show.

The brand, which was famed for its luxury cars during the interwar period, has not launched a car since its Audi R8-based V10 Coupé in 2010. This followed a trio of concepts: the HS21 two-seater supercar of 2000, the K8 of 2001 and the HS21-GTS of 2002.

The new car has been teased in a sketch released by the company. It will be fully electric and built in Barcelona, Spain, where Hispano Suiza was originally formed. Design details visible in the image suggest an aesthetic return to the company’s heavily streamlined interwar models.

The car will follow in the footsteps of other electric supercars showcased by small companies, such as China's Nio EP9 and the British-built Dendrobium D-1.

Speaking about the heritage associated with the brand name, Miguel Suqué Mateu, great-grandson of one of the company’s founders, said: “when Hispano Suiza started, it built [an] electric car, but the prototype was never industrially manufactured. Now, 119 years later, in March 2019, Hispano Suiza has its first 100 percent electric car.”

The project is backed by Grup Peralada, a Spanish conglomerate primarily focused on leisure and culture businesses.