1970-1974 DeTomaso Pantera
Posted by Max Howard
Following a brief racing career in the mid-1950s with Maserati and OSCA, the Argentine-born Alejandro DeTomaso retired from the sport and set up shop near Modena, Italy, to manufacture his own cars. He began with what he knew—formula racing cars—but by the late 1960s had given the world the bug-like 4-cylinder Vallelunga and the radical V8 Mangusta coupes—aesthetically interesting road cars but hardly world-beaters.
In the meantime, Ford had been on the prowl for an exotic car company to buy, something perhaps to alleviate the sting of Enzo Ferrari's earlier snub. They landed on the doorstep of DeTomaso, who wanted a way into the lucrative American market, while Ford wanted another supercar now that the GT40 had been retired. And while the radical Mangusta was interesting in concept but not quite right for the American market, the car DeTomaso had in the works was—the Pantera.
The car debuted at the New York Auto Show in 1970, and with Ford's backing, the plan was to import 10,000, to be sold at Lincoln-Mercury dealerships around the country.
DeTomaso was an entrepreneur to the core, and through his previous acquisition of both Ghia and Vignale, he had secured design and coachbuilding for the Pantera. The styling came courtesy of the young Tom Tjaarda at Ghia, and the crisp lines and long snout sat atop a pressed-steel unit chassis, while its off-the-shelf 310-hp, 351-ci “Cleveland” V8 was situated midship and paired with a 5-speed ZF transaxle. Weight distribution was predictably biased toward the rear, 150 mph was not out of the question, and the car came with amenities like air conditioning, which American buyers demanded.
Early production issues plagued the $10,000 Pantera, with fit and finish leaving much to be desired. The engine tended to overheat, as did the cabin, so it didn't really matter that a/c was included. And while American versions of the car lacked some of the power of their Euro-spec sisters, when they weren't fizzling out, the Pantera shined. Car & Driver said in August 1971: "As you skim over the pavement in the Pantera you can’t help feeling smug. You hear the engine rumbling along from its station back by your shoulder blades—a mechanical arrangement even novitiate automotive visionaries will recognize as a little piece of tomorrow today. And the looks. Oh wow—like something that just rolled out of the Turin Show."
A luxury model, the Pantera L (for Lusso), arrived for 1972 with unique bumpers, a finned panel over the fuel filler, and several other cosmetic upgrades. Quality control improved, though the V8 was revised ahead of the 1973 model year with a power-stifling lower compression ratio aimed at pleasing the federal emissions honchos. Pointy black bumpers arrived as well, though they were actually one of the better-incorporated safety bumpers of the era. DeTomaso also built a Euro-spec GTS model in 1973, which featured special badging and a high-compression V8, boasting 350 hp and a top speed of over 170 mph.
A handful of Panteras were heavily modified for Group 4 racing, where they enjoyed some noteworthy outings on European tracks, including an outright win on the 1973 Giro d'Italia, against competition from several neighboring marques. Finally, DeTomaso had its world-beater.
Ford pulled the plug on the program after 1974, when fewer than 6,000 Panteras had been sold. DeTomaso continued to produce the car in Europe up until 1991, though the cars of the Ford years are generally the most sought after. And unlike their strictly Italian cousins from Ferrari and Lamborghini, Panteras tend to appear in public with enthusiastic upgrades by their enthusiastic owners. Big wheels, big fenders, and big wings are not uncommon.
Like the Iso Grifo and Rivolta, the Italia, and other Italo-American hybrids, the Pantera well illustrates what can be accomplished when the singular vision of a wealthy man is accommodated by the grunt of Detroit.
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