Heriberto Pronello

Heriberto Pronello (born 2 February 1936 in Morteros) is an Argentine designer, constructor and engineer who has worked in the fields of motorsport, defense, and industrial development. He was the builder of the Torino Liebre cars, which stood out in the Argentine Turismo Carretera category during the 1960s and 1970s.

His career began in the 1960s, when he was hired by Industrias Kaiser Argentina to develop modifications to its flagship model, the IKA Torino, with the goal of competing in Turismo Carretera. After leaving IKA, he went on to develop a prototype for Ford Motor Argentina, named the Halcón TC. When the "TC B" division (a category for sports prototypes) was cancelled in 1971, Pronello turned to military engineering, working mainly at the Argentine state-owned TAMSE (builders of the Tanque Argentino Mediano) and the Brazilian company Engesa (developers of the Cascavel and Jararaca armored vehicles).

After leaving IKA in 1968, Pronello founded Pronello Competition Research, his own engineering and motorsport development company, based in Buenos Aires.

Afterward, he also worked on armored and official state vehicles, such as the presidential limousines based on the IKA Renault Rambler Ambassador, starting in 1967.

In 1979, Pronello won a design contest in Brazil for the Alfa Romeo 2300 ti 4, made locally between 1980 and 1986.

By the mid-1980s, Pronello returned to motorsports, designing and building the Renault Fuego for Silvio Oltra, which won the TC2000 in 1987, and the Peugeot 505 raced by Jose "Coco" Fortunato in the same category in 1988. Later on, taking on the championship winning Ford Falcon for Oscar Aventin in the 1991 and 1992 seasons.

In 1994 Pronello introduced his "Mini Auto Popular" (M.A.P.), a light, economical car, to be produced and built in collaboration between Argentina and Spain.

His latest major project in motorsports was an evolution of the Liebre concept, adapted to compete in the Dakar Rally. This prototype, built in 2008, was presented for the 2009 Argentina–Chile Dakar Rally with a 221 cubic inch Ford straight six engine, similar to that of the Argentine-built Ford Falcon. However, a gearbox failure prevented the car from starting the race.

As of 2025, Pronello is working on a revamped and modernized sports car based on the original concept of the Liebre, called the "Liebre IV", the fourth evolution of the model, carrying the ethos with modern technology.