DE TOMASO PANTERA
AN ITALIAN AMERICAN
Everyone thought the P70 project with Carroll Shelby was dead and buried, and as the last De Tomaso was made at least 15 years ago, it seemed that there would never be a new car. Following a chequered list of owners, along came the Hong Kong–based investment company Ideal Team Venture (ITV) in 2014. This partnership resulted in a stunning retro-styled Italian De Tomaso supercar that was launched at one of the biggest gatherings of classic cars and enthusiasts in Europe.
Like the Pantera and Mangusta, the P72 is all Italian look-at-me flair, from its rose-gold trim, wheels, and interior instruments, to that amazing retrocurved body in metallic wine. Designer Jowyn Wong, of Uk-based Wyn Design, drew inspiration from two De Tomaso racing prototype designs: the Sport 1000/2000 and echoes of the P70 project. The difference this time is that, while the two previous designs were functional and aggressive products of styling house Ghia, the P72 has gone all-modern, with
carbon fibre everywhere and lots of bling. There is still that American V8 muscle amidships in the form of a seven-litre Ford V8, but there could be a V12 in the pipeline.
Built by Apollo Automobil, CEO Norman Choi, who is also associated with ITV, is confident that the P72 will go into production, following on from the V12-powered Intensa Emozione (IE) his company has designed. The company has an agreement to share information and technology with Mercedes-amg cofounder Hans Werner Aufrecht. The P72 could even use the IE’S V12, something De Tomaso lacked in its heyday, when it was up against Ferrari and Lamborghini with their V12 engines.
With the P70 project, De Tomaso was relying on Shelby to provide funds to develop the car, and US designer Peter Brock was called in to plan it, following his successful involvement with the Shelby Daytona Coupe and Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
In the end, Shelby decided to back the Ford GT40 project, and the prototype P70 was displayed at the Turin Motor Show in 1965. A modified version of the chassis would form the basis of De Tomaso’s first production car, the Mangusta.
IVT acquired De Tomaso in 2014, for a seemingly paltry €1.05M, in an Italian bankruptcy auction. The company’s Italian lawyer, Giampaolo Salsi, advised that IVT intended to manufacture the cars in China under the De Tomaso name. At the present time, the advice is that just 72 will be made, which will ensure this car’s exclusivity, especially with its price tag of €750K (NZ$435K).
If the project comes off, the current owners of De Tomaso will be delighted that the name lives on. So far, the car exhibited at Goodwood appears to have all the right ingredients, and it’s beautifully executed. Reports from Goodwood indicate that, along with the collective jaw-dropping as the car was unveiled and then driven around the venue, this is a sensationally welldesigned and put-together supercar.
Whatever happens, the bottom line is whether ITV can deliver, and that will be the decider as to whether we have a future classic on our hands.
Enter the Panther
Dunedin collector Gary Mcneill enjoys big American V8s, and his De Tomaso Pantera takes that enjoyment to another level. With just a few examples of this supercar in New Zealand, the low and aggressive lines of this Italian beauty attract attention wherever it goes.
“It’s a 1973 De Tomaso Pantera, and I was told there were 10 in New Zealand. Just over 5000 Panteras were produced from 1971 to 1973, or 1500 a year. This one is a European-specification GTS, and they made 500 in total, with just 173 made in 1973, so a very low production. It differs in specification in a number of areas to the version sold in the US,” Gary explains.
The Pantera ceased production in 1992 after a run of 7260 cars. Hugely popular in the US, the cars were advertised by Ford’s Lincoln-mercury division as, “the affordable supercar”. “In 1973, they held their own against the Lamborghini Countach, so why haven’t they skyrocketed in price?” Gary asks.
That may be changing as current prices are increasing, and the Mangusta is also challenging the spot as the top-priced De Tomaso.
Gary bought his Pantera from
Dave Fleming in Auckland a couple of years ago. Quite a bit of money had been spent on it and it looked good. Although it was a European car, the American V8 motor powering it was a strong reason to buy it.
“It’s an Italian supercar with an American muscle car motor in it. There are some unusual bits though, like the new indicator arm and shroud I’m trying to buy for it. Using the De Tomaso part number, a replacement is priced at US$600! My research shows that the shroud is the same for a Mk1 Ford Capri, and the indicator is the same as for a Ford Escort.”
Hugely popular in the US, the cars were advertised by Ford’s Lincolnmercury division as, “the affordable supercar”. “In 1973, they held their own against the Lamborghini Countach, so why haven’t they skyrocketed in price?” Gary asks
Passion for the collectable
Gary’s passion is for the collectable and something a little different, but the Pantera was a surprise choice.
“I love Mustangs, I love Camaros, love ’Cudas, but I’d never own one unless it was something special, if it was an N-code Camaro, or a ‘Copo’ Camaro, or the Boss Mustangs, Cobra Mustangs. If it was a ’Cuda, it would have to be a Hemi or a six-pack, four-speed, so you are in a totally different market … totally!” says Gary. “I had a 428 Cobra Mustang and took that up to Moorhouse Muscle Cars in Christchurch to sell on behalf, and it sold just before Christmas 2018, and everyone was asking me what I was going to get next. I said I have no idea. I just feel I need a change. The Mustang … beautiful car with a 428ci Cobra Jet, four-speed manual, shaker hood, in Calypso Orange,
a beautiful colour. It ticked all the boxes. It was still an orange Mustang. I wanted something with a point of difference, something where no matter where you go someone is going to ask you a question: ‘What is it?’ In fact, I had someone ask me what it was and I said a De Tomaso Pantera and he said, ‘Yeah, what is it, a Ferrari or Lamborghini?’ They had never heard of De Tomaso before, and it just looks Ferrariish and it looks Lamborghini-ish!”
Buying the Pantera proved to be both a challenging and an interesting exercise, with a number of interested buyers.
“There was a guy in Australia and a guy in England that was interested in it when I bought it. I flew up to Auckland telling my wife, Cara, that I was going to Auckland solely to see if I could fit in the car. At sixfoot, six inches [198cm], if I was not going to fit, I’m not buying it. Once there, Dave opened the garage door, took the cover off and started it. Right then in my mind I said ‘I’m buying this!’”
After the initial inspection, the pair got down to the business of settling on a deal for the Pantera.
“Dave was very honest. I couldn’t afford to get into a bidding war with those guys because, once again, they have a damn sight more money than I have. I said to him, this is what I am prepared to pay for it, here are the conditions: it stays in New Zealand, you get to see it whenever you want to, and I’ll finish the interior, because he was quite passionate about seeing it finished. He wanted first right of refusal to buy it back at any stage, so I ended up getting it for a bit less than the highest bidder. It was a bit of a game I had to play.”
Done deal
With an agreement reached, the deal was done, and the Pantera was left with Tinwald Canvas and Saddlery near Ashburton for the final stage of re-cladding the interior, and what an impressive interior it is.
“I wanted to do the interior and keep the Recaro seats and insert Gt40-type inserts to make it really look authentic but not customized. I want people to look at the interior and go: ‘That’s what it could have looked like from the factory’,” says Gary. “Most De Tomasos went to the American market. That’s what they were built for, because Ford owned most of De Tomaso,
85 per cent, I believe. And obviously they wanted to replace the AC Cobra and the GT40, so they wanted to bring the Pantera to the US market.”
De Tomaso also had the rights to sell Panteras around the world, so it built the Euro version. “Euro versions didn’t have the big ugly bumpers at the front, as they did for the American regulations,” Gary notes. “They didn’t have the emission controls for the engines either, so they were always higher horsepower engines, and they had the wide-body option as well, distinguishing the Euro models.”
He is still in the process of tracking down the car’s history. He isn’t sure where it first went when it was brand new and and is trying to find out.
“I’ve heard Germany, but I’m not
100 per cent sure on that. Then it went to Japan. From there it was imported to New Zealand from Japan. It was then restored in New Zealand. I don’t know all the details of when it was restored, but it is a fresh restoration because the engine still has less than 1000km on it. It’s rebuilt and still tight. So it’s a fresh restoration, and there are still a few little things I need to do to it.”
He had some pretty good ideas on what he wanted to do to finish the Pantera.
“It’s not stock anymore, and some friends are calling me a hot rodder because I have a modified car. Originally, it was black,” he says.
The Pantera has also recently undergone an update to make it a little more exciting: the addition of a twin-bottle nitrousoxide system, adding 37–150kw! There is a hearty muffled thunder to the exhaust note firing up the big V8, and it’s an impressive engine that’s almost lost in the rear of the Pantera. With 335-section rear tyres, there is a lot to like about this car.
Out of his collection of cars, which includes a Plymouth Superbird Road Runner and the couple’s Chevrolet 3100 pickup, his wife Cara finds the De Tomaso the easiest one to drive.
“Cara drives the De Tomaso. She’s pretty confident driving it. Chevy truck has no power brakes, no power steering, so [she] finds it a bit difficult, very hard, even though they have that big steering wheel, so she chooses not to drive it. The Superbird’s nose is just so long, and the car is so big that she never bothered driving it,” says Gary.
Looking back, he is pleased he chose the Pantera: “The reason why I wanted it is because it was an Italian supercar, but it is Ford American muscle as well. Because it has the reliable V8 engine in it as well, so it has that American connection … I am an American car enthusiast at the end of the day.”
Ironically, all through childhood his ultimate dream car, which has been carried over to adulthood, as is often the case, is a Lamborghini Countach, which he finds amusing: “I can’t quite get one of those yet. For a number of reasons, money is one, so a Pantera De Tomaso is not a bad substitution. Wanting a Lambo is pretty odd, as I like American cars. I was a teenage boy with a Lambo poster above his bed and thinking, Wow! Look at that today and you can’t believe that car was designed in 1972.”
Despite not having a car-related background and being involved in the catering industry instead, Gary views his passion for collectable American cars as a true hobby, especially previously when he has restored cars to concours condition, which was bolstered by an eye for detail.
“The Boss 429 I did was a true concours restoration, right down to the last bolt, which was correct in that car even down to the type of plating that bolt had,” he says. “I do buy and sell cars for an investment reason. A lot of people don’t understand that, but that’s my hobby.”
The Pantera has also recently undergone an update to make it a little more exciting: the addition of a twin-bottle nitrous-oxide system, adding 37–150kw!