De Tomaso Pantera: The Transatlantic Hybrid
In the early 1970s, buying a mid-engine Italian supercar like a Lamborghini Miura or a Ferrari Dino meant accepting a certain reality: they were spectacularly beautiful, incredibly fast, and famously temperamental. The complex V12s and V6s required constant, expensive tuning by specialized mechanics.
Alejandro de Tomaso, an Argentine-born racing driver and businessman operating in Modena, Italy, saw an opportunity. He wanted to build a supercar that possessed the jaw-dropping aesthetics of his Italian neighbors, but utilized an engine so reliable and simple that any mechanic at a local Ford dealership could fix it.
His vision was realized in 1971 with the De Tomaso Pantera (Italian for “Panther”). By marrying Italian coachwork with American muscle, the Pantera became one of the most popular and culturally significant supercars of the 1970s, famously catching the attention (and the bullet holes) of Elvis Presley.
The Design: Tom Tjaarda’s Masterpiece
To ensure the Pantera looked the part, De Tomaso hired the renowned Italian design house Carrozzeria Ghia. The final design was penned by an American-born designer working at Ghia, Tom Tjaarda.
The Pantera is a quintessential 1970s wedge. It features a low, aggressive nose with hidden pop-up headlights, a sharply raked windshield, and a truncated rear deck. Unlike the delicate curves of the Miura, the Pantera looked muscular, wide, and brutally purposeful.
Unlike De Tomaso’s previous car, the Mangusta (which used a steel backbone chassis), the Pantera was built around a true steel monocoque chassis. This made the car significantly stiffer and allowed for better suspension geometry.
The Heart: The Ford 351 Cleveland V8
The brilliance of the Pantera lay behind the driver’s seat. Instead of a highly-strung Italian multi-cylinder engine, De Tomaso forged a deal with the Ford Motor Company to supply their engines.
The engine of choice was the legendary Ford 351 cubic inch (5.8-liter) “Cleveland” V8.
This cast-iron pushrod V8 was not exotic, but it was incredibly durable and produced a massive amount of torque. Breathing through a four-barrel Autolite carburetor, the early European-spec engines produced a stout 330 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque. (Later US models were choked by emissions equipment, dropping power to around 266 hp).
The massive torque of the American V8 meant the Pantera was much easier to drive around town than a peaky Ferrari. The engine was mated to a highly respected, heavy-duty 5-speed manual transaxle supplied by ZF (the same transaxle used in the Ford GT40).
Because it used a Ford engine, maintenance was cheap and straightforward. Furthermore, because the 351 Cleveland was a staple of American drag racing, the aftermarket tuning potential was virtually limitless. Owners could easily modify the engine to produce 500+ horsepower without breaking the bank.
The Ford Partnership and Early Flaws
The partnership with Ford extended beyond engine supply. Ford agreed to import the Pantera into the United States and sell it through their existing Lincoln-Mercury dealership network.
This gave the Pantera an unprecedented level of exposure and distribution for an exotic car. At a starting price of roughly $10,000 in 1971 (significantly cheaper than a contemporary Ferrari), it was an incredibly tempting proposition.
However, the early cars suffered from severe quality control issues. De Tomaso struggled to scale up production to meet Ford’s demands. The cars were plagued by overheating issues in traffic, the air conditioning was ineffective, the seating position was awkward for tall drivers, and the early bodies were incredibly prone to rust.
The most famous story of Pantera reliability involves Elvis Presley. Frustrated that his yellow Pantera refused to start on a hot day, the “King of Rock and Roll” pulled out a handgun and shot the steering wheel (the car still survives today, bullet holes included).
Evolution and the GT5
By 1974, Ford had grown tired of the quality control issues and the impending US safety bumper regulations, and officially ceased importing the Pantera.
However, Alejandro de Tomaso refused to let the car die. He continued to build and refine the Pantera for the European and Rest-of-World markets for nearly two more decades.
In the 1980s, the Pantera evolved to match the outrageous aesthetic of the Lamborghini Countach. The Pantera GT5 and later the GT5-S featured massively flared fiberglass wheel arches to cover incredibly wide Pirelli P7 tires, deep front air dams, and optional colossal rear wings.
By the end of its production run in 1992, the Pantera had switched to the smaller Ford 5.0-liter (302 cu in) V8 with electronic fuel injection.
A Blue-Collar Exotic
Over its 20-year production run, De Tomaso built over 7,000 Panteras, making it one of the most successful mid-engine sports cars of its era.
Today, the Pantera holds a unique place in classic car culture. It is loved for its aggressive looks and the thundering soundtrack of its American V8. It proved that a supercar didn’t need to be fragile or temperamental to be desirable, bridging the cultural gap between Modena and Detroit perfectly.