De Tomaso Pantera

detomaso pantera picture De Tomaso first announced its new Pantera in 1969, a model which would remain in limited production for the next 25 years. All De Tomaso motorcars possessed a wonderful mixture of Italian styling and American muscle car performance, thanks to their US Ford V8 engines.

The Pantera had an all-steel monocoque body with mid-engine powertrain layout. The specification included all-round disc brakes and 350bhp 5763cc Ford V8 engine, supplied by the Ford Lincoln division. Prodcuction of the Pantera continued until 1994. n 1977 two Panteras ranked third in the 6-Hours of Vallelunga, and in 1979 a Pantera was fitted for Group 5, thus qualifing for 9th place at Le Mans. The car was not able to finish the race but managed to run briefly. It was the last time for a Pantera to take part in Le Mans. Introduced in 1980, the GT5 had larger tyres and mounted a 350 hp engine, the same Ford 351, whose production had been transferred in Australia. With its new kind of suspensions, GT5 was the best among Pantera models - included "L" and "GTS" which continued to be built -. In 1985 De Tomaso rolled out GT5-S, a real sports car and six years later it was the 1991 Pantera turn, completely changed in its styling by Marcello Gandini design. 38 vehicles equipped with a 5-liter Mustang V8 engine developing 305 hp were manufactured before starting the production of Guarà.

De Tomaso Pantera Data
Base Price	$50,000
Power	330 hp
Zero to 60 mph	5.5 s
Zero to 100 mph	17.1 s
Top speed	129 mph

detomaso pantera picture Even though the last Pantera has been built about 10 years ago, today it is still the symbol of De Tomaso. 7260 vehicles have been built between 1970 and 1991, and the car was conceived as Ford contender to GM Corvette for the American market. The mid-mounted engine, much higher than the average position, together with a very improved (by comparison with Mangusta) weight distribution, a pure and aggessive design, tyres and rims never seen before made De Tomaso Pantera a dream car. The first press reviews were not enthusiastic, whereas the market research was very much so. Thanks to some agreements, it was decided that Vignale in Turin (where 17 vehicles per day were built) would have been the right place for the body production, the car painting and the interior fitting up. All technical components were mounted at Fossalta plant near Modena. Since Pantera needed new changes, many improvements were introduced as production proceeded. By 1972, there were so many changes (mostly technical) that the car was renamed, giving birth to "Pantera L" ("luxury"). An important visual change was the addition of the U.S. government mandated safety bumpers in front and rear parts. Tijarda had the good idea of painting them black, thus obtaining an even more aggressive Pantera. The GTS, a new Pantera model, was ready for the demanding American market in 1973. Even if it was rolled out as a powerful vehicle, the U.S. version had only one option added, an AM-FM stereo radio. Anyway, American fans were disappointed, as European GTS underwent many changes concerning the engine well.

detomaso pantera image Although the Pantera can be viewed as an exotic product, the guiding concept comes from an evolution rather than an evolution, based as it is on the experience gained from Guigiaro's Mangusta. American Ton Tjaarda was responsible for the body styling. Although its design had been created without the help of a wind tunnel initially, later tests by Ford in their Dearborn, Michigan wind tunnels showed that the shape and design were extremely aerodynamic. The very first cars had the drag coefficient 0f 0.29. With the ample availability of power, slippery body gave the Pantera a 0-60 mph time of around 7 seconds (slightly over 6 seconds for the European version) and a top speed of around 150+ mph. The Campagnolo wheels were 15" diameter, 8" wide in the rear and 7" wide in the front. Tires were by Michelin, 185 and 215. The price in 1971 was $9,995 (Note - in 1971 a Ferrari Daytona sold for $22,000, a Porsche 911S Targa sold for $10,380, and a Corvette 350 sold for $5,472)