De Tomaso Pantera: The Supercar America Almost Got Right
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Some cars arrive at exactly the right moment, catch the world entirely off guard, and never quite let go. The De Tomaso Pantera is one of those cars. Born in 1971 at the intersection of Italian flair and American muscle, it was affordable by supercar standards, devastatingly fast, and striking enough to stop traffic on any street on earth. Decades on, it remains one of the most compelling machines ever built, and one of the most underrated.
Origins and History
Alejandro de Tomaso was an Argentine-born racing driver turned entrepreneur with an eye for opportunity and a deep dislike of playing it safe. Based in Modena, the heartland of Italian performance car manufacturing, he had already produced the Mangusta when he struck a deal with Ford in 1970 that would change everything. Ford wanted a volume supercar to sell through its Lincoln-Mercury dealer network in America. De Tomaso wanted backing, distribution and credibility. The partnership made sense for both parties.
The Pantera launched at the 1971 New York Auto Show and immediately caused a sensation. Here was a mid-engined, steel-bodied grand tourer priced at around $10,000, roughly the same as a loaded Chevrolet Corvette. Ford sold over 5,000 of them in the United States through 1974, when tightening emissions regulations and a fuel crisis brought that chapter to a close. De Tomaso continued producing the car independently until 1992, evolving and refining it across more than two decades of production.
The Design
Tom Tjaarda at Ghia drew the original body, and the result is a masterclass in purposeful elegance. Low, wide and impossibly aggressive, the Pantera sits close to the road with haunches that swell over the rear wheels and a long, flat bonnet that stretches ahead of the driver. There is not a wasted line anywhere on it. Every surface serves a purpose, whether managing airflow, suggesting speed, or simply making onlookers stare.
The cockpit is tight and driver-focused, with a driving position that places you low and central, surrounded by Italian leather and a deep-dished wheel. Later GTS and GT5 variants wore wider arches and more aggressive aerodynamic additions, giving the car an even more muscular, race-bred silhouette. Whether in its original clean form or the widened later guise, the Pantera looks extraordinary from every angle.
Performance and Driving
Ford supplied its 351 cubic inch (5.8-litre) Cleveland V8, tuned to produce around 330 brake horsepower in road specification. Mounted amidships and driving the rear wheels through a ZF five-speed gearbox, it propelled the Pantera from rest to 60 miles per hour in under six seconds, with a top speed nudging 160 mph. By any standard of 1971, that was devastating performance.
The experience behind the wheel is uncompromising in the best possible way. The engine is loud, lusty and torque-rich, pulling hard from low in the rev range with a soundtrack that bypasses the brain and goes straight to the nervous system. Steering is heavy but supremely communicative. The chassis is stiff and the suspension direct, rewarding a committed driver with real feedback and genuine involvement. This is not a car that does your thinking for you.
Later factory variants pushed power well beyond 400 bhp. The Pantera GT5-S of the late 1980s produced closer to 450 bhp, with handling and aerodynamics to match. These are machines built for those who want to work for their reward, and the reward is considerable.
Cultural Impact
The Pantera punched well above its weight in cultural terms. Elvis Presley famously owned one, and after it refused to start one morning, allegedly shot it. The car sold for over $130,000 at auction in 2019, bullet holes intact. That story says everything about the car's charisma and its occasional temperament.
Racing versions appeared at Le Mans and in various European and American series throughout the 1970s, acquitting themselves well against far more expensive machinery. The car developed a devoted following among those who valued involvement and drama over refinement, and that following has only grown with time. The Pantera occupies a unique position in automotive history as the car that genuinely bridged two continents and two schools of performance thinking.
Buying a De Tomaso Pantera Today
Values have risen sharply over the past decade as collectors have caught on to what enthusiasts always knew. A solid, well-maintained early car in original specification will now change hands for between £60,000 and £120,000, depending on condition and provenance. Later GT5 and GT5-S variants command a premium for their additional performance and more dramatic styling.
Rust is the primary concern on any Pantera inspection. The steel monocoque is susceptible to corrosion around the sills, floor, and inner wings, and a full restoration can be expensive. The Ford V8 is robust and parts are widely available, which keeps running costs lower than you might expect for a car of this calibre. Electrical gremlins are common on early cars, and the cabin ergonomics reflect the era in ways that a modern driver will notice. None of that matters once you are moving. A pre-purchase inspection by a specialist is essential, and the dedicated Pantera owners clubs on both sides of the Atlantic are invaluable resources for buyers.
Shop De Tomaso Pantera Art at KK Automotive Art
KK Automotive Art does not yet have a De Tomaso Pantera design in our collection. We are working on bringing this iconic car to our range, so watch this space. In the meantime, explore our classic car phone cases, classic car mugs and limited edition prints.
Explore more Italian classics in our classic cars blog.