DE TOMASO PANTERA

2-door 2-seater sports coupé.

Successor to the Mangusta, and a play for massive USA sales through a link-up with Ford's Lincoln Mercury Division. Another Ford mid-engined supercar (some saw it as a sanitised GT40 successor) let down by all-steel body/chassis monocoque which rusted, and by poor reliability. Not sold in USA after 1974, not really developed thereafter, but kept in trickle production ever since. Advanced spec included all-round discs, splendid Ghia style (De Tomaso once owned the firm) and 350bp on the GTS version. An intriguing gamble now...