The Guarà, the last project of Alejandro De Tomaso in the 1990s

Last of A Kind - De Tomaso is an Italian premium car brand that has been coloring the world's racing and exotic cars since long time ago by many their cars. The automotive company based in Modena, Italy was founded by Alejandro De Tomaso in 1959.

De Tomaso Guarà coupé powered by a Ford's V8 engine and legal to drive in California USA. (Picture from: Wikipedia)

As quoted of Wikipedia, after repeatedly undergoing management changes related to the shares ownership in the company, most recently in 2014 the De Tomaso brand was acquired by a company based in Hong Kong is called Ideal Team Ventures and in 2019 they managed to make and launching a beautiful, retro-style supercar called De Tomaso P72.

De Tomaso Guarà convertible spider of the 1998 powered by a BMW's V8 engine of which 4 units were ever built. (Picture from: Wikipedia)

But did you know that throughout the 1990s, Alejandro De Tomaso, the brand's founder is also known to have kept designing exotic cars before he passed away in the 2006. As the last car project he worked on was De Tomaso Guarà, and debuted at the 1993 Geneva Motor Show.

De Tomaso Guarà convertible spider of the 1998 powered by a BMW's V8 engine of which 4 units were ever built. (Picture from: Wikipedia)

As is well known, the De Tomaso Guarà was launched after the legendary De Tomaso Pantera model was discontinued in the 1993. Furthermore, the Guarà is designed by Carlo Gaino, a designer of  Synthesis Design, an Italian design house and made based on the Maserati Barchetta Stradale prototype of the 1991 which is also the Gaino's designed result.

De Tomaso Guarà barchetta of the 1996 powered by a BMW's V8 engine of which 10 units were ever built. (Picture from: Bringatrailer)

And, initially only available in coupé body-style, then they made also roadster and open-top barchetta body styles. The latter was made to fit the coupé but without a proper roof and windshield and only a small air deflector provided adequate protection for the passenger and driver of the winds and those car should be driven by using the helmet.

De Tomaso Guarà barchetta of the 1996 powered by a BMW's V8 engine of which 10 units were ever built. (Picture from: Bringatrailer)

The Guarà's interior is upholstered in leather and features two racing bucket seats with optional six-point racing harness. Most of the interior components are sourced from BMW. The Guará has a steering wheel and pedals that are manually adjusted according to the owner's preferred driving position.

De Tomaso Guarà barchetta of the 1996 powered by a BMW's V8 engine of which 10 units were ever built. (Picture from: Bringatrailer)

The car's body shell made of Fibreglass, Kevlar, and other composite materials, fitted to an aluminium-made backbone chassis. While, the car's suspension is featured with independent upper-lower wishbone with pushrod front and rear end suspension having rose-joints designed by famed Formula-1 car engineer Enrique Scalabroni.

De Tomaso Guarà barchetta of the 1996 powered by a BMW's V8 engine of which 10 units were ever built. (Picture from: Bringatrailer)

As the driving force, on the early models used a BMW-sourced V8 engine, and for the post-1998 models featured a post-1998 models featured a heavier, Ford-sourced engine of the same configuration. The Guarà is known for its highly agile handling which makes it a bit too "nervous" for the average driver. It could accelerate from zero to 100 kph in a claimed 5.0 seconds and had a top speed of 274 kph. 

During its production period ranging from 1994 to 2004, De Tomaso Guarà reportedly produced in limited number of 52 units only, ie 10 were the open top barchettas, 4 were the convertible spiders, and the rest 38 cars were coupés. *** [EKA[01042021] | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SYNTHESISDESIGN | WIKIPEDIA | BRINGATRAILER ]

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