The BBC reports that sources close to Jaguar Racing said associates of Brand Synergy, which had recently tried to take over the British Grand Prix, were having confidential talks with HSBC, the bankers handling the sale of the Formula One team on behalf of Ford, Jaguar's owners.
The bid would appear to represent the last hope for the Jaguar team whose Milton Keynes-based personnel would otherwise be thrown on the dole, adding to the economic depression in the region which has already been hit by the uncertainty hanging over the future of the Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Jaguar's collapse would add to the unemployment among the specialist workforce in the British motor racing industry, coming only two years after the bankruptcy of Tom Walkinshaw's Arrows team based in Chipping Norton.
It is understood that the new offer from Mansell's consortium also includes a bid for Cosworth, which builds the Jaguar V10 engines, and its associated company Pi electronics.
Earlier bids from Red Bull and a consortium of Chinese investors failed to reach successful conclusions.
The team has had up to eight expressions of interest from potential buyers but none has yet come to fruition.
