Hispano Suiza and Its “Manifiesto del No”
Hispano Suiza’s latest “manifesto” dresses remembrance in rhetoric, casting its late president’s legacy as a philosophy of refusal—an evocative story, though one with more poetry than product.
Barcelona’s boutique luxury marque has released a new “manifesto” built around the idea of courage and defiance. In practice, it is a memorial video to recently deceased company president Miguel Suqué Mateu, reframed into an existential slogan—“No”—as the driving force of the brand’s philosophy.
Founded in 1904 and revived in 2019 with the all-electric Carmen hypercar, Hispano Suiza continues to search for relevance in today’s automotive landscape. With the “Manifiesto del No,” the brand weaves poetic rhetoric around the idea that saying no does not mean surrender, but the determination to seek new paths. It ties this message to both the vision of founders Marc Birkigt and Damián Mateu, and to the legacy of Suqué Mateu.
The company leans heavily on its 121-year history, appearances at Concours d’Elegance and the Goodwood Festival of Speed, positioning itself as a custodian of Spanish exclusivity and luxury. The reality, however, is that Hispano Suiza remains a marginal player, producing handcrafted electric hypercars that serve more as collector’s trophies than market-shaping vehicles.
The newly released video, filmed at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, presents “No” as a symbol of creative defiance—a statement that giving up is not in the company’s vocabulary. It is an elegant narrative, but in essence more poetic marketing than a clear business strategy. Absent are new models or production plans; what Hispano Suiza offers instead is a state of mind.
