Will the real Hispano Suiza please stand up?

Hold tight. This could get complicated.

At the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, a company called Hispano Suiza will reveal 2019’s must-have: an electric sports car. It’s made of carbon fibre, and will be engineered by QEV Technologies, the team behind Mahindra’s Formula E racer. See the latter two pictures above - those shadowy teasers - for, erm, no details whatsoever.

Meanwhile, elsewhere under the Geneva show lights, a company called Hispanio Suiza will be unveiling an anachronistic 2019 guilty pleasure: a 1,085bhp twin-turbo V10-powered old-school supercar. It’s based on a car first shown way back at the show in 2009, albeit with 750bhp back then. We were told it’d go on sale in 2011 for €700k, and once 25 units were built, there’d also be a spider version. Both were to be based on the last-gen Audi R8 V10. See the renders above for the details. The many, many edgy details.

So, two supercars but just one classic Spanish carmaking name from the 1920s. And the weird bit? They’re absolutely nothing to do with each other. In fact, it sounds like there’s beef.

According to the press briefing attached to the petrol-powered car (called the Maguari GS1 GTC, since you asked), it’s nothing to do with the EV. The 'internationally renowned Austrian car designer Erwin Leo Himmel', the man behind the project, is "quite surprised that they are advertising the car under our brand name”.

Ouch.

“I got the European rights for Hispano Suiza back in 2010. Meanwhile I also own the rights in our global key markets. Their current company 'Hispano Suiza Cars' was only founded on November 26th, 2018. [Their leader] has no interest and no knowledge in the automotive industry and his Grup Paralada business (owner of casinos and party halls in Catalonia) is what drives him.”

Double-ouch. The diatribe goes on, but we’ll spare you the unpleasantries here.

Meanwhile, the car itself has promising specs. There’s no mention of the ten-year old show car ever being intended for production, and this latest version is referred to as a concept. We’re teased with claims of electric turbos, 0-62mph in 2.8secs, and a top speed limited to a tidy 236mph.

Oh, and the price? It’s €2.2million. That’s for the car, not the legal proceedings.

We’ll be watching with interest in Geneva. And ringing the bell at the end of each round.