Pegaso

Spanish stamp with a Pegaso Z-102 SS P Spider prototype from 1955.

Pegaso is a Spanish company mainly known for producing trucks. The name means Pegasus in Spanish. The company was founded by Wilfredo Ricart, designer of the Alfa Romeo 512, and fellow rival of Enzo Ferrari, who at the time also designed for Alfa Romeo.

The company also built around 86 high-end sports cars in the 1950s, which was based on the old Hispano-Suiza factory. These cars were powered by a DOHC desmodromic 32-valve V8 360 hp (270 kW) engine with multiple carburetors or optional supercharger. The top speed was clocked at 256 km/h (160 mph), making it the fastest car of the time; in 1951, Pegaso presented the Z102, which exceeded the speed of the Ferrari autos, thus making it the world's fastest production car at the time. The cars were in many ways advanced for the time, they had all wheel independent suspension, 5 speed gearbox.

Pegaso was part of the Enasa-group, a state owned company. It was taken over in 1978 by International Harvester. This company already had Seddon Atkinson under it's wings, so it was natural that the engines were used in the Pegaso trucks. In the eighties IH took over DAF, which resulted in the use of the acclaimed DAF 95 cab in the Pegaso Troner. Iveco took over Pegaso in 1990. Later it became part of Irisbus.

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