De Tomaso Pantera 1974 - today's exotic tempter

By: Guy Allen, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 29.06.2017

Italian-American combo still looks good today

De Tomaso Pantera remains a stunning car after all these years.

With a big Ford V8 on board, the big Italian Pantera sports cars were always going to be quick and reliable.

The American influence was stronger than most people realised. Stylist Tom Tjaarda may have been working for Ghia, but was born in America.

These cars caused quite a stir when first shown in Modena in 1970 and represented a significant leap forward for the De Tomaso firm.

This replaced the Mangusta and made the move to a steel monococque chassis. A mid-mounted Cleveland 351 initially provided the power, matched to a five-speed manual ZF transaxle.

The specs changed over the long period they were built - 1971 to 1992 - but the overall concept remained the same.

This is a relatively early car and so runs the original spec. Its 5.8lt Ford powerplant was originally tuned for 330hp (246kW) and we're told has had a recent rebuild.

Overall it presents well and seems to be be competitively priced at $119,000. Charles Classics in Sydney has the keys.

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