De Tomaso
A prototype of the car was displayed at the 1996 Geneva Motor Show and was called the De Tomaso Biguà, though it still needed development before it would reach full production. The company required capital to continue, and an initial appeal to the Italian government failed due to the declining health of Alejandro de Tomaso. Eventually, the company approached the Qvale family, who, led by Kjell Qvale, had been a North American importer for the original De Tomaso Mangusta in the 1960s and later Maserati when it was under De Tomaso ownership. Qvale agreed to fund the development of the car, with the agreement that the final product would be sold under the De Tomaso brand, as the De Tomaso Mangusta. The agreement between De Tomaso and Qvale was soured over licensing and distribution issues. Bruce Qvale, who was managing Qvale at the time decided to produce the car under the Qvale name after an investment of over US$30 million on the development of the car.