TURIN – Paolo Garella, a visionary engineer who founded the MAT boutique luxury car manufacturer, is typical of the elite group of creative small businessmen keeping the city’s automobile industry alive today as giant Stellantis downsizes its historic Fiat production that once dominated the economy of the Piedmontese capital. Ten years after the business was launched, Ing. Garella likes to tell visitors that he incorporated a joker’s three cornered hat symbol into the logo of his manufattura Automobili Torino venture “because you have to be a bit mad to start a company at age 55.”

 Ing. Garella learned about the car business while working for Pinainfarina over 18 years as a young engineer. MAT typically designs, tests and produces between 20 and 30 cars per year that they design and send directly to customers in a B to C process. They also design cars from zero in a B to B process where the design or car is sold to another firm with whom MAT collaborates Ing. Garelli explains to a group of visiting foreign journalists allowed to tour the MAT workshops.

 A dazzling example of the latter that we saw is the Aspark Owl (Japanese: アスパーク・アウル) , an all-electric battery-powered sports car manufactured by Japanese engineering firm Aspark (アスパーク), under development since 2018, with the goal of making the fastest accelerating electric car. Built by MAT it is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 kph in less than two seconds with velocity comparable to a jet fighter aircraft.

 All these projects are in the innovative spirit of Made in Italy though the idea of designing a one off car for a rich client first was experimented in Britain and then was developed in Turin. At Pinifarina Ing. Garella was involved in designing cars made exclusively for the family of the Sultan of Brunei. In the first years of MAT much of their output consisted of creating racing cars for an American customer.

 MAT also works on reconstruction of existing brands of supercar at the request of clients, for instance they have been commissioned to reconstruct a Ferrari Stratus by incorporating new technology.

 Today MAT alsohas many clients in Switzerland. These are not just Swiss citizens but also from among the various expats who live in Switzerland, he says. In general he characterises his customers as high net worth people “who want to have a thrilling experience or else who want to give themselves a present that is half way between a toy and a jewel.”

 As many of 95 percent of their customers will drive the cars themselves. They are not generally people who buy cars as an investment unlike Ferrari purchasers who often do consider their cars to be investments and then never use them.

 To compete with the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini “we have to to give much more content” than a Ferrari that in the view of Ing. Garelli is basically an overpriced vehicle not worth the sky high price that people pay for them.

 “People who come to me want their own individual car,” he says. Qatari royals and a Saudi Princess are among those who have sought modifications to cars to personalise them.

 To understand the market when he set up MAT, Ing. Garella drew up a list of 450 car collectors around the world and visited many of them. “The collector buys assets that exist already and follows a theme. People who want one off cars from us instead are builders, people who construct and want to make a statement, like building their own house.”

 “The value of our cars is usually much longer term and they usually stay in the family.”

 “The people who come to us are passionate about cars and everyone who comes here are amazed by what we do.”

 The central A in MAT’s logo recalls the solidity of a mountain topped with the joker’s hat. In May they achieved a speed record for the fastest electric hypercar that hit 138.7 kph.

 One of the greatest challenges to his business is divorce, he quips, but though his business has weathered recent geopolitical shocks well Ing. Garella acknowledges he is concerned about the long term future.  

 “I am worried because the world economic system that we have constructed is showing that it is not capable of sustaining itself. The focus on the capacity of advanced countries to concentrate on services and leave behind the underedevloped countries is madness.”

 “We have changed from a society where 30 percent of people are workers to having only 10 percent who are workers. It’s scandalous that lads of 30 earn just 1000 euros a month and have no vision of the future.”

 Against this background, MAT is looking for investors interested in making a supercar with a logo, who understand and believe in the value of the artisanal expertise in the company and would be willing to stay the course. Ing. Garella doesn’t exclude a joint venture, citing as an example the joint venture between Pininfarina and Louis Vitton that he says was “very interesting.”

 One off cars at MAT can typically cost 3 million euros, in the range of 2.5 million and 4 million. A complete new car can cost as much as 8 to 9 million. Buyers who spend those sort of amounts will have a long term relationship with MAT.

 “We don’t sell cars we sell relationships,” Ing. Garella said.

 jp