Here's about the Pantera that You've never known before

Unique ONES One of the classic sports cars made in the 1970s that is recognized by many automotive enthusiasts that still looks cool today is the De Tomaso Pantera. Indeed, many people may not know about this Italian sports car, which turns out to be included in the luxury car category which is very rare in the world. Some said that the Pantera looks is more cool than the Lamborghini Countach in its hey day. What do You think?

1971 De Tomaso Pantera is an Italian mid-engined sportscar featured a gorgeous body designed by Tom Tjaarda at Ghia and built on a monocoque chassis engineered by Gian Paolo Dallara. (Picture from: ClassicCars)

This car was produced in a long period of time ranging of 1971 to 1993 by De Tomaso Automobili (previously De Tomaso Modena SpA.) Indeed, these years were known as the heyday of the American muscle car, the Ford Mustang, so many people thought this car was the Ford Mustang. And this Italian made car taking the name of Pantera (an Italian word means Panther) which is debuted in 1971.

1972 De Tomaso Pantera GT4 racing car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2010. (Picture from: LotusEspritTurbo)

The De Tomaso mid-engine exotic sportscar featured a gorgeous body designed by Tom Tjaarda at Ghia built on a monocoque chassis engineered by Gian Paolo Dallara and was originally projected to be a race car. In its heyday in 1973, the car ever had won the Tour of Italy racing championship with Mario Casoni behind the wheel. Then followed by Clay Regazzoni who also won the Hockenheim's racing event by driving the same car.

1973 De Tomaso Pantera Lusso or L-cars by Ghia. (Picture from: SportsCarsDigest)

The sports car's speed and power came from its mid-mounted engine. Yes, by using a 5.8-liter V8 Ford engine capable of spraying a maximum power of up to 326 bhp at 5,400 rpm, so that it can make the car paced up to a maximum speed of 256 kph bolted to a five-speed ZF transaxle. Well, with such a big burst of power, of course, the fuel consumption was wasteful when juxtaposed with the modern cars have maximized the fuel efficiency.

1975 De Tomaso Pantera GTS. (Picture from: LotusEspritTurbo)

Although at first many people thought it was a Ford Mustang, it turns out that this De Tomaso's sportscar still has something to do with the largest automotive manufacturer in America. De Tomaso Pantera is developed in a collaboration with Ford Motor Company, in which the V8 engine used is one of the Ford-made engines is in certain also used by the Ford Mustang.

1980 De Tomaso Pantera GT5. (Picture from: Supercars.net)

De Tomaso Pantera itself at the time of its appearance was priced at around $10,000, Pantera was closer to an Italian exotic than an American sports car. It looks cheap when compared to the value of money today, but that was the price in the 1970s which at that time was enough money to buy a car. The Pantera sold reasonably well, with around 3,000 out of 7,200 cars sold by the end of 1972, but fell victim to the 1973 oil crisis, which effectively ended muscle cars performance for the next two decades. 

1980 De Tomaso Pantera GT5-S. (Picture from: RoadAndTrack)

During its long production period ranging from 1971 to 1993, this De Tomaso Pantera sports car was produced in two models, ie the racing purposed and street-legal models. Its street-legal models consisted many variants ranging of the early De Tomaso Pantera with split bumpers and push-button door handles from the De Tomaso Mangusta parts bin gave way in 1972 to the De Tomaso Pantera Lusso or L-cars fitted with federal bumpers that added weight of 100 lbs.

1991 De Tomaso Pantera 90 Si is the last of Pantera and only made 41 units. (Picture from: SportsCarMarket)

After the partnership with the Ford Motor Company ended in 1974 (some say 1975), De Tomaso then produced the De Tomaso Pantera GTS whose production was projected to be for the European market, where the GTS variant predominantly battled against Lamborghini.

As quoted of Sportscardigest, into the 1980s and 1990s, De Tomaso did a radical refresher to the Pantera design by launching the De Tomaso Pantera GT5 in 1980 and the De Tomaso Pantera GT5-S in 1984, but it was nothing compared to the complete overhaul by Marcello Gandini in 1990 transformed into the De Tomaso Pantera 90 Si.

1971 De Tomaso Pantera modified into a more stylish and modern looks sports car by The Ringbrothers and Nike back in the 2013 dubbed as the ADRNLN. (Picture from: OtoBlitz)

At that time Marcello Gandini completely redesigned the last De Tomaso Pantera under a revised chassis and equipped with a smaller 4.9 liter Ford 302 V8 engine. The Pantera 90Si marked the end of the Pantera variants is produced until 1993 of which only 41 cars were made and then gave a way to the De Tomaso Guarà.

Ares Design's Project Panther or Panther ProgettoUno supercar made based on the Lamborghini Huracan to reflect the legendary De Tomaso Pantera supercar of the 1970s into a modern looks and was presented during the 2019 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. (Picture from: MasSat)

Currently the price tag of De Tomaso Pantera is estimated at over $100 thousand because it is a rare item and became as one of the most sought after cars by collectors. Moreover, if the sportscar is in very smooth and original condition, the selling price may exceed the estimate. In general, it can be said that the De Tomaso Pantera is one of the sports cars that proved to be very popular and sold more than 10,000 units in its era. 

For Your Info, it turns out that the De Tomaso Pantera still continues to inspire the creative desires and ideas of many the world's automotive activists to regenerate its legendary looks and styles into a modern sports car, we can see in several examples such as those made by Ares Design and The Ringbrothers. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DETOMASO-AUTOMOBILI | HAGERTY | CLASSICCARS ]

Note: This blog can be accessed via your smart phone.

Kindly Bookmark and Share it: