This is a 1971 De Tomaso Pantera. A European model that's been modified to look like a mid-1980s GT-5 wide-body style Pantera, the car is an absolute thrill to own and drive. It's powered by its vintage FORD 351 Cleveland 4V high-compression (11.0 to 1), high-performance engine that's typical of early 70s muscle cars. Purchased in France in 1999 and imported to the USA via Germany in 2000.
For those of you unfamiliar with Panteras, they were styled by Tom Tjaarda at Ghia in Italy during the late 1960s and built in Modena, Italy by the De Tomaso factory. DeTomaso used genuine Ford engines which were imported into Italy. The body is all steel with a monoque frame.
During the period between 1971 and 1974, these cars were sold by Ford's Lincoln Mercury dealers for around $9,900. For comparison, a new Corvette during that time cost about $6,500; a Porsche 911S cost $9,471; while a new 1971 Ferrari Dino 246GT would set you back $13,500.
An example of a window sticker courtesy of Allen Morris.
The de Tomaso factory was owned by an Argentinian named Alejandro de Tomaso. He emigrated to Europe during the Eva Perron days and used his wife's fortune to start up the factory in Modena, Italy. Alejandro continued making Panteras well into the early 1990s, though not for the US market.
The exact number of Panteras built vary depending on who you ask, but it's under 7000 cars. The majority of these Panteras exist in the USA as 1971-1974 models.
Here's a link to the deTomaso factory.
Page 2 - Pics
Page 3 - Info on this Pantera
Page 4 - Updates and mods
Page 5 - continued
Page 6 - Even more stuff done to this old car!
Page 7 - More pics
Page 8 - Older shots. One from Germany.
Page 9 - Poll results on whether I should keep the delta wing.
Page 10 - DeTomaso logo
Click here for page 2
