A motorsport team which is developing a 200mph road car for launch next year has set up its headquarters in Banbury.

Ascari Cars, which was set up seven years ago by Dutch businessman Klaas Zwart, formed a racing team last year to build and run the A410 sports car in the LMP 900 category. It is third overall in the FIA Sports Car Championship.

The firm has bases in Blandford Forum, Dorset and Sittingbourne, Kent, but has set up a new headquarters at Vantage 40, in Overthorpe Road, Banbury, as the base for its racing programme, which includes an assault on the 2002 Le Mans race and leading sports car championships.

The firm is developing the high-performance, carbon-fibre composite KZ1 road car, which is due to go into production in the summer of 2002. The company aims to sell about 50 a year.