Reborn De Tomaso to retain American V8 heart

By: Alex Affat, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 31.10.2019

Just like the original: the De Tomaso will drape its Italian skin over a thumping American heart

Back in July, we got our first look at the great return of De Tomaso.

The veil was drawn on the AU$1.4 million limited production (72 units) P72, harking back to the curvaceous Le Mans prototype racers of the 60s; specifically the P70 of 1964 designed by Carroll Shelby and (the American) Peter Brock.

True to that mid-60s De Tomaso Prototype racer, and its Shelby 289 Cobra V8, the reborn P72 will stay true to tis Italian-American hybrid roots – with The Drive reporting that the new bespoke super car will utilise a Roush Performance-sourced supercharged Ford "Coyote" V8, coupled to a six-speed manual transmission.

Similar Roush package inside a Ford Mustang

Power output is predicted to be over 700hp (522kW) and around 824Nm of torque, redlining somewhere "greater than 7,500rpm". Unlike all other Roush-fettled 5.0lt V8s, the De Tomaso unit will utilise a dry-sump oil system and is still undergoing further development prior to launch.

The Ford link runs deeper than the mid-60s P70, with Ford purchasing a majority stake in De Tomaso following their famous fallout with Ferrari. While the P70 utilised a Shelby 289, and the Pantera went on to use Ford’s 351 Cleveland.

Just 72 De Tomaso P72s will be produced, each for the price of €750,000 – equating to around AU$1.2 million, depending on the dollar.

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