The 70’s generated some incredible performance cars and not many as unique in form or concept as the Pantera by De Tomaso. It blended Italian style and engineering with American Ford production power to develop an exotic middle engine configuration capable of serious supercar capabilities that didn’t carry a prohibitive price tag and difficulty of ownership.
That concept was born of an unlikely blend of objectives: Lee Iacocca, who was in charge of Ford North America, desperately wanted a true sports car that would give Ford dealers a credible rival to the Chevrolet Corvette, while Henry Ford II had never relinquished his desire to rubFerrari’s face in the dirt following the Ford GT40’s Le Mans victories. Alejandro de Tomaso supplied the European flavor and American muscle gave us a car that appeared every inch the Italian sports exotic.
And what made the Pantera so intriguing wasn’t that it was an exotic Italian that just happened to be shoved an American engine in its backside. The whole concept-its steel monocoque, the independent suspension, the mid-engine arrangement and the ZF transaxle-was designed properly, and it was Ford’s backing that allowed a bespoke, hand-built car to eventually be mass-produced, or at least sold through a sizable network of American dealerships. The character of the Pantera became a unique blend of these design, engineering, viability and attainability characteristics.
1. An Unlikely Partnership
“The Pantera arose out of a marriage that had seemed odd on paper, but made a lot of sense financially,” he continues. “De Tomaso possessed the knowledge and Italian identity needed to build such a great-looking mid-engine sportscar, and Ford possessed the manufacturing know-how, dealership network, and base of loyal customers to sell it to a much wider audience than De Tomaso could have ever dreamt of!” Ford’s head of public affairs had business interests beyond the battlefield of the showroom. The dispute with Ferrari had spawned the successful GT40 and its wins at Le Mans, but it’s easy to see how the rivalry could evolve beyond the circuit too.
An Unlikely Partnership:
- Italian Expertise Meets American Resources
- A New American Performance Opportunity
- Lee Iacocca Supports the Project
- Henry Ford II Challenges Ferrari
- A Blend of Automotive Cultures
Iacocca was a key part in getting this project moving as Ford desperately needed a no-bones-about-it performance machine for its American showrooms. Ford had long history with sporting car models but the Pantera offered customers something far removed from a familiar front engine and rear drive American recipe. Low and exotic it may have looked but its familiar V8 engine ensured it was service-able. The Pantera represented a new front on which Ford could take on the big boys of European automotive design, this time by putting a classic blend of Italian coachwork and American power under the street customers.
2. A Design That Still Stands Out
Tom Tjaarda designed the Pantera The Pantera’s basic body shape emanated from American-born designer Tom Tjaarda, at the Italian styling house of Carrozzeria Ghia. Even at a relatively young age of just 25, Tjaarda produced a design that contained minimal trim. The body’s features included a low nose, wide stance, flattish planes and surfaces, a long, vented bonnet,pop-up headlamps and a prominent rump that clearly meant business.
A Design That Still Stands Out:
- Tom Tjaarda’s Striking Design
- A Low and Dramatic Stance
- The Influence of Wedge-Shaped Styling
- Distinctive Pop-Up Headlights
- A Badge with Family Heritage
The car was then officially launched in Modena, but with much wider publicity, given its ‘Made in America’ credentials it had a lavish American debut at the 1970 New York Auto Show in March. The car certainly cut a dashing, not to mention angular, figure next to even current American sports cars and for many reviewers the ‘little’ Corvette looked comparatively restrained, De Tomaso and Ford needed a car that had the ‘look of a much more expensive exotic’. Visually too there were quiet echoes of Alejandro de Tomaso himself. The T-badge it used was the symbol for his family’s cattle brand and Argentina was woven in alongside the inherent Italianness of the car. The two national identies merged as an identity in itself.
3. Engineering Beneath the Bodywork
The radical shape did not, however, hid poor chassis engineering. Ex-Lamborghini engineer Gianpaolo Dallara was contracted to ensure the Pantera featured the sort of suspension and handling characteristics you’d expect of a supercar and to stop the car becoming an Italian shell around an engine. Double A-arm independent suspension was fitted at all four corners with coil springs, shock absorbers and rack-and-pinion steering completing the chassis fundamentals. Together with the engine’s mid-mounted position, these mechanical underpinnings gave the Pantera enough ability to be taken seriously alongside the European sports cars it tried to ape.
Engineering Beneath the Bodywork:
- Dallara’s Influence on Chassis Development
- A Stronger Monocoque Construction
- The Benefits of Mid-Engine Layout
- Independent Suspension at Every Corner
- Direct Rack-and-Pinion Steering
Removing the basic skeleton frame from previous Ford engined cars the Mangusta the Pantera sport was a completely different type of construction with the steel monocoque body replacing the old frame construction. This was quite a step for De Tomaso as this car achieved a much stronger car but also in full monocoque made mass production much simpler showing De Tomaso to be thinking about practicality, not just performance.
4. Italian Character, American Convenience
The Pantera was clearly developed with American buyers in mind and you could even tell this within the car’s interior. Power windows, A/C, and door chimes were standard features and weren’t necessarily a given in European sports cars of the time. Thus, the Pantera was born, a strange blend of exotic style and practical American features.This philosophy was carried forward to how the car was sold. The Pantera was to be aimed away from the highly restricted niche market and instead sold through Ford’s Lincoln-Mercury dealerships in America.
Italian Character, American Convenience:
- American Comfort Features
- Standard Air Conditioning
- Convenient Power Windows
- Ford’s Extensive Dealer Network
- Exotic Style with Practicality
A customer could be sitting in their local, mainstream showroom waiting to test drive a mainstream car and discover this exotic Italian manufactured sports car sitting among the other Lincoln-Mercury machinery, instead of having to search around for one at an expensive specialist importer. That accessibility was one of Pantera’s biggest charms. Mechanically and aesthetically, it was still wild enough to titillate gearheads, but the Ford connection prevented it from being entirely otherworldly, and thereby more intimidating, like far more expensive, far more difficult, European supercars.
5. From Hand-Built Car to Better Production
Production quickly highlighted the clash between exclusive Italian coach building practices and American mass manufacturing expectations. Vignale was a traditional Italian workshop where early Pantera bodies were hand-built. Early cars particularly the first 75 sold in the US which used unique, flush push-button door handles-suffered from poor panel fits, minimal rustproofing, and inconsistent trim fit.The use of body solder was to cover up imperfections on a number of the initial vehicles and was a continuation of the cottage industry elements of the build.
From Hand-Built Car to Better Production:
- Early Vignale Assembly
- Uneven Panel Gaps
- Limited Rust Protection
- Traditional Hand-Building Methods
- Ford Improves Production Quality
Finally, Ford stepped in and refined the production process. The increased amount of precision panel stamping, coupled with stricter quality-control measures, made the Pantera more consistent in terms of body fit and structural strength. While that distinction may seem trivial, Ford intended the Pantera to be something more than just exotic and low-volume; it had to be something that real customers could drive.
6. Supercar Proportions with Unexpected Practicality
Another large factor in the Pantera’s bold appearance was its size. Low, wide, and not much more than 43 inches high on a relatively short 98.4-inch wheelbase, the Pantera looked the exotic-car part. Its mid-engine arrangement placed the cockpit forward while the engine sat just behind the two-seat occupants. For the size it had more usability than it let on. It had more storage up front where there would have been a second trunk and more space for luggage over the top of the engine, this helped made it little more practical than expected.
Supercar Proportions with Unexpected Practicality:
- An Extremely Low Body
- Compact and Balanced Dimensions
- A Centralised Mid-Engine Layout
- Useful Front Trunk Storage
- Additional Rear Luggage Space
Furthermore, the whole package provided the car with a striking and dynamic aesthetic. The occupants were placed fairly close to the engine; the body was extremely low to the ground and much of the weight was relatively well centralized. De Tomaso had thus found a way to combine exciting and exotically proportions with a rational structure and layout for everyday use.
7. The Cleveland V8 Made the Difference
Among the few uniquely American parts for the Pantera were the engine, a Ford 351ci (5.8 litre) Cleveland V8. The early European models delivered around 335 horsepower, the American variants, some 300 after emissions restrictions gnawed at the top end. Regardless of its output, it offered the wide torque band which became one of the car’s signature traits. Drive to the wheels was supplied through a German-built, heavy-duty ZF five-speed manual transaxle, a transmission of the same type utilized in other fine machinery such as the Ford GT40 and the Maserati Bora. This torquey pushrod V8, coupled with the hefty transaxle, gave the Pantera an odd character; it could move out with surprising effectiveness without the need to run flat-out on the tachometer.
The Cleveland V8 Made the Difference:
- Ford’s Powerful Cleveland V8
- Strong Torque Delivery
- A Robust ZF Five-Speed
- Easy Everyday Performance
- Plenty of Modification Potential
Such flexibility also allowed the Pantera to be used at lower speeds much more easily than some highly strung European sports cars. The Cleveland motor certainly put up a good low-end thump, so you could cruise along without needing to shift gears very often. Very much the American way of doing things when it comes to high performance, but it actually worked surprisingly well in an Italian, mid-engine package.
8. Performance That Challenged European Royalty
The Pantera had enough performance to stand up on its own right from day one. Weighing around 3,100 pounds, early models did it to 60 in under 5.5 seconds and reported speeds to about 160 to 170 mph, well within the serious performance set. Where this made sense was how much less it cost than nearly all of these other exotic sports cars that it matched in terms of straight-line speed. While a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona was capable of a zero to 60 mph time around 5.5 seconds and top speeds of around 174mph and a Lamborghini Miura would do zero to 60 mph typically between 5.5 to 6.5 seconds. The Pantera had no need to be ashamed of its Detroit motor.
Performance That Challenged European Royalty:
- Impressive Acceleration Figures
- Supercar-Level Top Speed
- Competition With Ferrari
- Competition With Lamborghini
- A More Affordable Performance Package
Period testing also revealed an edge over Maserati’s V8 Bora: the Pantera is reported to have completed the 0 to 60 mph (0 to 96 km/h) dash roughly 1.7 seconds quicker. Such ability fully explained the car’s reputation for being a supercar killer it offered the exotic car presence coupled with the straight-line punch, sheer simplicity and driving enjoyment only a American V8 could provide at the time.
9. The Driving Experience and Its Imperfections
In high road conditions the Pantera behaved like a mid-engine exotic should: planted and confidence-inducing. Near-perfect weight distribution balanced almost precisely between front and rear axles and low centre of gravity kept it stable when speed was building and the rack-and-pinion steering meant you got a direct sensation through the front axle. You were aware you sat relatively low in the car and the engine sat just in front of the driver’s shoulder which all contributed to the heightened experience. A more manual feel came with the gated ZF manual transmission the lever needed to be pulled back and then slid into the exposed gate and the carbureted V8 also delivered the signature American performance growl. The 1972 Pantera L received a front chin spoiler, which worked in tandem with the nose keeping it grounded.
The Driving Experience and Its Imperfections:
- Balanced Mid-Engine Handling
- Direct and Engaging Steering
- An Involving Gated Gearbox
- The Sound of American V8 Power
- Cooling and Electrical Problems
But as well as its charming quirks the car wasn’t perfect. Coolant might struggle to keep temperature on a warm traffic jam, while the electric system is prone to hiccups that take in anything from pop-up lights to air conditioning. Early models were susceptible to corrosion, while the interior suffers from compromises including the poor headroom, offset pedals and less than convenient control layout.
10. Why the Pantera Became a Legend
But perhaps the De Tomaso Pantera’s’ strongest asset wasn’t its speed, but its price tag-a starting price in the ballpark of $10,000 is about half the original sticker price of some Ferraris and Lamborghinis, bringing real exotic car performance within reach without crushing owners financially. And The Mechanical Simplicity Reinforced Those Values the Ford V8 was well understood; parts relatively available; owners did not approach maintenance with trepidation about exotic multi-carburettor, overhead cam engines. Enthusiasts can readily tweak their Cleveland V8 with other carburettors, camshafts, and performance modifications, enabling considerable power increases without threatening the owners’ financial well-being.
Why the Pantera Became a Legend:
- An Affordable Exotic Experience
- Familiar Ford Mechanical Components
- Easier Parts Availability
- Strong Potential for Modifications
- A Truly Unconventional Combination
Ultimately, the Pantera worked because it simply didn’t slide nicely into a specific car culture. An Italian body with Italian chassis tuning, American muscle, a German transaxle, American market friendly touches and the whole thing tucked into surprisingly little sheet metal – all came together to make the De Tomaso Pantera a success that landed in an appropriate sweet spot of automotive history: an affordable supercar for a greedy era.
