De Tomaso, from Modena to Ford V8s
The marque was founded in Modena in 1959 by an Argentine racing driver who had settled in Italy. Its first road car, the Vallelunga, placed a Ford four-cylinder behind the driver in the mid-1960s, on a steel backbone chassis. The formula was set: Italian architecture with mass-produced mechanicals, robust and easy to source.
The Mangusta, unveiled in 1967, moved to a Ford V8 and wore a body designed by Giugiaro at Ghia, with an engine cover opening in two gullwing panels. Built in small numbers until 1971, it kept a backbone chassis. Since 2019 the name has lived again with the P72, built by a new company.
De Tomaso Pantera: a Cleveland V8 amidships
The Pantera appeared in 1971 and stayed in the range until the early 1990s. It gave up the backbone chassis for a steel monocoque, with a 5.8-litre Ford 351 Cleveland V8 mounted mid-rear and a five-speed ZF transaxle. In the United States it was first sold through the Lincoln-Mercury network.
The versions followed one another: Pantera L, GTS, then the wide-arched GT5 and GT5-S, and finally the restyled Pantera Si with a 5-litre Ford V8. Each version has its own parts, bodywork above all, so identifying the car comes before any order.
Longchamp, Deauville, Guarà: the other De Tomasos
The marque also built front-engined cars. The Deauville, a four-door saloon launched in 1970, and the Longchamp coupé, shown in 1972 and also offered as a Spider, use the same Cleveland V8. The Longchamp served as the basis for the Maserati Kyalami, when De Tomaso controlled Maserati.
The Guarà, introduced in 1993, returned to a mid-mounted engine with a BMW and later a Ford V8, as a coupé, barchetta or spider. Built in very small numbers, these cars call for patient parts research, carried out item by item.
Why does a Pantera rust and run hot?
The Pantera’s monocoque received little corrosion protection when new. Sills, floors, wheel arches and suspension mountings are checked first, because they carry the structure: a Pantera that looks sound can hide corroded reinforcements. The inspection is done with the car on a lift, and often with the shell stripped during a full restoration.
Cooling is the other well-known issue. The radiator sits at the front and the engine at the rear, so coolant travels through long pipes running the length of the car. Incomplete bleeding, a tired radiator or weak fans are enough to push the temperature up in traffic. At every visit, the workshop checks:
- the radiator, its fans and their switching;
- the pipes and hoses along their whole length;
- the bleeding of the system and the condition of the coolant;
- the V8’s ignition and carburation, which affect temperature.
Restoring a De Tomaso: our method
The car is examined before any estimate, which is then itemised. Body, mechanicals and cabin are handled separately: bodywork and paint on one side, the engine rebuild and the ZF gearbox on the other. Photographs of the key stages are sent to you, and no additional work is carried out without your consent.
Parts are original, of matching quality or reconditioned according to availability, with their origin stated. You choose between strict originality and a more personal interpretation, as one might on an English sports car of the same era, described on our Lotus page.