QVALE MANGUSTA Years produced 2000 to 2002

The Qvale Mangusta isn t a supercar in the strictest sense, but one would cost more than $117,000 today enough to get you an Audi R8.This awkward, Ford Mustang based targa was penned by automotive designer Marcello Gandini of Lamborghini Miura and Lancia Stratos fame, but when he was well past his professional prime. Originally conceived as the De Tomaso Bigu, it lost its glamorous brand name but gained the iconic Mangusta badge when the cash strapped project was financed and then ultimately taken over by California based investor Kjell Qvale. After three years of bad reviews (including our road test from 2000) and even worse sales numbers, the rights to the platform were sold off to the moribund MG Rover conglomerate. There, it morphed into the chunky MG XPower SV, a terribly named sports car that rarely reached its advertised power figures. Its carbon fiber panels were soaked in so much resin that any weight saving benefit from using the material was negated.There is no shortage of Mustang based hackery rolling around, but the Qvale Mangusta might be the strangest of them all.