Asardo is a brand of sports car built in the United States. The first car was built in 1959 and subsequently modified by the designer in 1961. Only one was ever built. Background "Asardo" is an acronym for "American Special Automotive Research and Design Organization". The company's founder and chief designer was mechanical engineer Helmut Schlosser, an Austrian who had emigrated to the United States. In the late 1950s he was managing a machine shop in North Bergen, New Jersey. Schlosser was interested in sports cars, at one time owning a Siata with a Stanguellini engine. Schlosser had completed the design for what would become the Asardo by 1957, and construction began in 1958. 1500 AR-S For the Asardo 1500 AR-S Schlosser produced a compact curvaceous berlinetta body in fiberglass. The appearance of the front of the car has been compared to the Maserati 300S and the rear to some Ferraris. The car's gullwing doors were reminiscent of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL and in fact used Mercedes hinges and latches with a custom hold-up strut. The dashboard was from a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia as was the windshield, which was cut to fit. The bucket seats were from a Porsche Speedster. The electrical accessories were courtesy of Lucas. The chassis was a multi-tubular space frame. The front suspension used upper and lower A-arms from the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, coil springs and an anti-roll bar. The rear suspension also used many Giulietta parts, with a solid axle and alloy Alfa differential carrier on coil springs with trailing arms and an A-arm for lateral location. Koni telescopic shock-absorbers were used all four corners, as were Borrani wire wheels with knock-off spinners. Brakes were Girling/Alfa Romeo drums front and Alfin drums rear. Steering was the ZF-Gemmer worm-and-ball system used in the Alfas. The engine in the Asardo 1500 AR-S was the Alfa Romeo Twin Cam inline-four engine. In the Giulietta this engine displaced but for the Asardo its bore was increased from 74 mm to 79.5 mm with custom pistons and wet liners from Mahle so that its final displacement was . The Asardo's engine had a compression ratio of 11.5:1 and was equipped with two two-barrel Weber 40mm DCOE3 carburetors. Power output for the engine was estimated to have been at 6800 rpm. Power went from the engine to the rear axle through an Alfa Romeo four-speed manual transmission. The car was taken to