Qvale was an independent Italian car manufacturer founded in 2000 by American Bruce Qvale, the son of businessman Kjell Qvale. Qvale's sole product was the Mangusta, originally the De Tomaso Bigua. Kjell Qvale founded British Motors in 1947 in San Francisco, California and was a well known importer of European luxury cars. Kjell was the first distributor for Jaguar on the west coast and one of the founders of the San Francisco Auto Show.

Alejandro de Tomaso, an Italian car manufacturer with Argentine roots, had chosen the Biguà to revive his brand. The car was designed by Marcello Gandini, a designer for Lamborghini and Maserati. The Biguà was shown for the first time in 1996, in Geneva.

Financial troubles forced De Tomaso to look for a business partner whom he found in the American Bruce Qvale, an importer and distributor of a number of exclusive cars in the United States. The De Tomaso Biguà was renamed the Mangusta, a historic name.