September 10, 2026

MADRING will feature more than a century of Hispano Suiza’s sporting DNA, with a unique collection of historic vehicles and the Carmen Sagrera hypercar

Hispano Suiza will be present around the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix with nine vehicles representing the brand’s evolution from 1912 to its current stage as a hypercar manufacturer.
The Alfonso XIII, the Rabassada and the H6C Boulogne are part of a historic journey that reflects Hispano Suiza’s connection with competition since its origins.
The Carmen Sagrera, the brand’s most advanced electric hypercar, represents the current interpretation of a legacy built on innovation, high performance and sporting spirit.

This weekend, the area around the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix at MADRING will host a journey through more than a century of motoring history, bringing together the past and present of Hispano Suiza in an exhibition organised by CarDesign.es together with Fever and MADRING.

The brand will be represented by nine vehicles, eight of them historic, which will form a chronological journey from 1912 to 2002 within the Marca España area of Fan Zone E2, ending with the Carmen Sagrera (2024), Hispano Suiza’s latest model which will be on display in Fan Zone A alongside the hypercars and competition-inspired vehicles. This will be the largest representation of a single brand within the exhibition, which brings together around 60 vehicles in total.

A history written between innovation and competition

Since its origins, Hispano Suiza saw motorsport as a tool for demonstrating the technical capability of its vehicles. From its earliest years, the brand competed in various motor races and was linked to some of the great sporting events of the early 20^th century.

Among these, the Copa Catalunya, whose first edition, in 1908, is considered the first circuit race held in Spain. From that first edition, Hispano Suiza supported this pioneering competition organised by the Real Automóvil Club de Cataluña, in which numerous models from the brand took part over the years.

Among its most notable milestones is the Concurso Automovilista del Guadarrama, held in Madrid in 1912, where King Alfonso XIII himself competed at the wheel of a Hispano Suiza HS 45 HP. Two years later, at the 1914 Concurso de Navacerrada, the brand achieved an outstanding one-two finish: Louis Massuger, Hispano Suiza’s test driver, took victory at the wheel of the T20 bis “La Sardina”, while Lluís Carreras finished third in a T20/21. In 1921, Alfonso XIII once again demonstrated the brand’s performance at the Cuesta de las Perdices, setting a new record at the wheel of his Hispano Suiza H6, exceeding an average uphill speed of 102 km/h.

This close relationship with competition also translated into major international successes, from the victory achieved in the Mont Ventoux hillclimb in France in 1909, considered Hispano Suiza’s first in competition, to the triumphs achieved in the Boulogne-sur-Mer races in 1921, 1922 and 1923, which consolidated the brand’s sporting prestige beyond Spain’s borders.

The cars that built a legend

The historic journey that Hispano Suiza will present in Madrid begins with the Alfonso XIII from 1912, considered one of the first sports cars built in series production. Named in honour of the Spanish monarch, a great motoring enthusiast and regular customer of the brand, it combined high performance, lightness and innovation for its time.

Alongside it will be the Rabassada from 1922, a unique piece directly linked to the legendary Subida a la Rabassada hillclimb in Barcelona, one of the most prestigious hillclimb competitions in Europe during the first half of the twentieth century. Based on the Alfonso XIII, it was conceived as a lightweight build designed to maximise its competition performance.

The historic selection also includes the H6C Boulogne from 1924, a variant developed from Hispano Suiza’s successes on the French Boulogne-sur-Mer circuit, representing the sportier side of a brand renowned worldwide for its luxury and engineering.

From historic legacy to the electric hypercar of the future

More than a century after its first competition experiences, Hispano Suiza upholds the same principles of exclusivity, innovation and high performance in a new technological era.

The Carmen Sagrera, presented in 2024 to mark the brand’s 120th anniversary, represents the contemporary interpretation of Hispano Suiza’s sporting spirit. Located in the MADRING hypercar and competition-inspired vehicle area, this model embodies the brand’s historic legacy and carries it into the world of electrification through a hypercar handcrafted in Barcelona.

With this gathering of historic vehicles and its most advanced creation, Hispano Suiza shows, during the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend at MADRING, how the same philosophy has evolved over more than a century: from its first high-performance sports cars to today’s electric hypercars.

About Hispano Suiza:

Hispano Suiza is a historic Spanish car brand owned by five generations of the Suqué Mateu family. Hispano Suiza Fábrica de Automóviles S.A. was founded in Barcelona in 1904 by Damián Mateu, with the assistance of technical director and engineer Marc Birkigt, who was also a partner in the company. Between 1904 and 1946, Hispano Suiza manufactured more than 12,000 high-performance luxury vehicles and 50,000 aircraft engines.

In 2019, the brand was revived by the founder’s great-grandson, Miguel Suqué Mateu, who preserved its legacy, bringing fresh impetus and dynamism with a clear vision for the future and longevity. Sergio Martínez Campos, CEO of Hispano Suiza, together with the management team, continues to drive the brand’s legacy and evolution into the future.

In 2024, to celebrate its 120-year history, the Carmen Sagrera was unveiled, the vehicle that completes the range of electric hypercars alongside the Carmen (2019) and the Carmen Boulogne (2020). The Sagrera redefines the concept of the Gentleman Driver and sets the tone for the brand’s future design direction. Hispano Suiza continues to work towards offering exclusive, high-performance vehicles with endless customisation possibilities for clients seeking excellence, both through its hypercars and unique experiences.

Media Contacts:

For more information about Hispano Suiza, please contact the press office: press@hispanosuizacars.com

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July 15, 2021

Carmen, the inspiration behind the most advancedHispano Suiza of all times

Carmen Mateu was the granddaughter of Damián Mateu, founder of Hispano Suiza, and the mother of the current Chairman of the company.
She was Chairman of Hispano Suiza from 1972 till 2000, and a great promoter of music, culture and entertainment through the Peralada Festival, which she founded with her husband in 1987. This year the Festival celebrates its 35^th anniversary.
Her amazing figure has served as inspiration for the launch of Carmen, the first Hispano Suiza of the new era.

Barcelona, 15 July 2021. Hispano Suiza Carmen represents technological excellence, high performance and luxury raised to its maximum power. In short, it is the most advanced vehicle ever created in our country. A model of such depth had to bear the name of a key figure in the history of the brand: Carmen Mateu. A tribute to the pursuit of dreams, to the infinite love for culture and art, and to the promotion of talent and our country within and outside our borders.

The rebirth of the Hispano Suiza brand bears the name of “Carmen”, a choice that was not merely coincidental, but quite the opposite: it is a name that perfectly embodies what the company and its products stand for. Carmen Mateu Quintana was born on February 21, 1936 in Barcelona, she was the daughter of Miguel Mateu i Pla, who throughout his long and distinguished career, was Mayor of Barcelona, Chairman of La Caixa bank and Ambassador in Paris. Miguel, in turn, was the son of Damián Mateu, a successful businessman, who in 1904 had founded Hispano Suiza together with Marc Birkigt.

Carmen lived through the end of the first era of Hispano Suiza, a brand she was extremely fond of, and that revolutionised the incipient automobile industry in our country, building more than 12,000 luxury cars between 1904 and 1946. The family also acquired the Peralada Castle (near Girona, Spain) in 1923: an imposing 14th-century construction, today it serves as the Peralada Group headquarters, headed by the Suqué Mateu family. Surrounded by immense gardens of almost 77,000 m², designed by the architect François Duvilliers, and flanked by two 14th-century towers, the Peralada Castle hosts a majestic collection of books, ceramics and works of art.

With such a heritage, it is not surprising that Carmen was infected with an indomable passion for music, culture and art. She studied art and decoration, and she devoted herself to it throughout her life. In 1957 she married businessman Arturo Suqué, who eventually became Chairman of the Peralada Group, the holding that controls all the companies controlled by the family, including Hispano Suiza.

Driven by their love for music and entertainment, Carmen and her husband launched the Peralada Festival in 1987, held since then in the surroundings of the Peralada Castle and which has become a national and international reference for ballet and classical music. The Peralada Summer nights have been immersed in culture for over 30 years, thanks to outstanding opera productions, symphonic concerts, ballet, jazz and pop concerts that led the Peralada Festival to become a member of the European Festivals Association in 1992 and later of Opera Europe in 2010.

Artists such as Plácido Domingo, Josep Carreras, Montserrat Caballé, Ainhoa Arteta, Alfredo Kraus, Paco de Lucía, Joaquín Cortés, Antonio Canales, Sara Baras, Miguel Bosé, Alejandro Sanz and Miguel Poveda have all perfomed on the Peralada Castle stage. In 2011 Joan Manuel Serrat, gave an emotional symphonic concert to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the Festival. Among the operas represented on the Peralada stage are Turandot and La Bohème, by Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi´s La Traviata, and Don Giovanni, by Mozart. This year the Peralada Festival celebrates its 35^th edition this summer with an amazing line-up.

Carmen Mateu established herself throughout her life as a promoter of the musical arts, thus continuing the family legacy. Thanks to the love and passion for all the forms of art that her father had instilled in her from her early years, she really put Peralada – a small village of 1,800 inhabitants- on the map and converted it into an international point of artistic reference. “My father left us a legacy: Peralada – she said in one of the rare interviews she gave – He liked music and this is a town of musical culture. He used to tell me: You have to do something! You have the place and the space, you have to dedicate it to whoever can enjoy it and reinvest in culture ”, so this is how the Festival was born.

When he passed away, in 2018, the 32^nd edition of the Peralada Festival dedicated in his honor a performance of Verdi’s Requiem, by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and the National Orchestra of Catalonia. Throughout her life, Carmen Mateu received numerous awards, including the Gold Medal of the Cercle del Liceu, the Cruz de Sant Jordi or the Gold Medal of Merit for Fine Arts.

Her legacy lives on in every Hispano Suiza

The figure of Carmen is still very present in the new era of Hispano Suiza. She and her husband were in charge of transmitting the family values to their three children – Miguel, Isabel and Javier . Just as Carmen wanted to turn Peralada into am international point of reference, where the best artists performed and the best works where shown, today it is Hispano Suiza which elevates luxury, performance and excellence to a higher level, with the aim to entice car lovers and collectors all over the world.

Carmen Mateu, like the rest of the family, maintained the incessant desire to bring Hispano Suiza back to life. She was Chairman of the company between 1972 – after the death of her father, Miquel Mateu i Pla – and 2000, when she handed over the presidency to her son, Miguel Suqué Mateu, who currently heads the company.

Almost two decades later, a new Hispano Suiza was born to take the automobile industry by storm, featuring new technologies and producing the most advanced vehicles in the world.

“Hispano Suiza is the only brand that is still in the hands of a family today. For four generations we have preserved the Hispano Suiza brand, which is closely linked with the Suqué Mateu family”, said Miguel Suqué Mateu, Chairman of Hispano Suiza, son of Carmen Mateu and Artur Suqué and great-grandson of Damián Mateu, founder of the brand.

“The name Carmen is a tribute to our mother. When we were debating what we should name the vehicle, we thought about Carmen and the family loved it. She always told me that she wanted to see a Hispano Suiza on the streets again, and I am sure that now she will be proud of it. The signature on the back of the vehicle is her original signature. “

In March 2019, the new vehicle that brought the brand back to life was launched at the Geneva Motor Show: the Hispano Suiza Carmen, an electric hypercar delivering 1,019 HP of power, was designed, developed and manufactured in Barcelona. and only 19 units will be produced. Five of them will be in its most extreme version, called Carmen Boulogne, which raises its power to 1,114 hp.

It is a worthy tribute to the figure of a woman who put all her efforts to uphold the family’s legacy, with elegance and honor, and who fulfilled the dream of sharing her passion with the rest of the world.