The Detomaso Pantera stands as a testament to an ambitious automotive vision, born from the collaboration between Italian automaker Alejandro de Tomaso and Ford, spearheaded by the legendary Lee Iacocca. This striking mid-engine sports car was conceived to challenge the dominance of American icons like the Chevrolet Corvette, blending Italian design flair with American V8 power. The story of the Pantera begins with De Tomaso’s burgeoning relationship with Ford in the early 1960s.
De Tomaso’s initial foray into automotive manufacturing saw him utilizing Ford engines. His first road car, the Vallelunga, debuted in 1963 and featured a Ford Cortina four-cylinder engine. This early venture demonstrated De Tomaso’s inclination towards Ford powerplants. Subsequently, he collaborated with Carroll Shelby, leveraging Ford resources, on a project intended to create a new chassis for the ‘King Cobra’. However, this endeavor, known as the P70 Program, faced setbacks as Shelby shifted his focus to the Ford GT40 program. Despite the P70’s derailment, De Tomaso’s efforts had captured the attention of Lee Iacocca, then head of Ford North America.
Iacocca envisioned a mass-producible GT car, one that could be sold through Ford’s extensive Lincoln-Mercury dealer network. His ambition was clear: to create a vehicle that would eclipse the Corvette and any other offering from General Motors. Iacocca recognized the marketing potential of Alejandro de Tomaso’s “Italian” persona and the allure of Italian design to promote this new Ford-backed sports car.
The concept for the Pantera prioritized a steel unibody, or monocoque, construction, a departure from the more complex backbone chassis used in De Tomaso’s previous vehicles. Power would come from a robust Ford V8 engine, paired with a production-ready ZF transaxle. The name chosen for this project was “Pantera,” Italian for Panther, evoking a sense of sleek power and agility. The design was entrusted to Tom Tjaarda, an American designer working for the renowned Italian design house Ghia. Engineering responsibilities were handed to Gianpaolo Dallara, a brilliant engineer lured from Lamborghini, further cementing the Italian supercar pedigree of the project.
Within Italy, the Pantera prototype development was internally designated “Tipo 874.” At Ford, the project carried the moniker M.S.E., for Mid-Ship-Engine, underscoring its defining engineering characteristic. The DeTomaso Pantera was explicitly designed with the American market in mind, and Ford retained exclusive rights for sales within the United States. De Tomaso of America Inc., based in Livonia, Michigan, managed importation, while service and sales responsibilities were managed by the Lincoln-Mercury Division in Dearborn. De Tomaso retained the rights to market and sell the Pantera in the rest of the world, making it a truly international collaboration. The DeTomaso Pantera quickly became the car most synonymous with the De Tomaso brand, embodying the fusion of Italian design and American muscle that Lee Iacocca and Alejandro de Tomaso had envisioned.
