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Certainly the
most muscular and aggressive car set to go under the hammer
this evening during RM Auction's sale in London this evening
will be a perfect condition example of the wild Gp4 De
Tomaso Pantera Competition Coupe.
Alejandro de
Tomaso is remembered as a carmaker and entrepreneur, but
down near his core lived a racing driver. In addition to
sports car rides with Maserati and OSCA, his competition
resume included two Formula One starts in 1957. But by the
time his 30th birthday came along in 1958, it had become
clear to the Argentine-born Italian that his future lay
somewhere other than the world’s racing circuits.
In 1959, he established De Tomaso Automobili, beginning a
long and storied career as a creator of racing machines
(early clients included Frank Williams) and fast, sexy
street cars. A variety of sports and GT cars emerged from de
Tomaso’s Modena headquarters, but of them all, the Pantera
is easily the best known, as well as the most numerous. And
of the 7,260 Panteras produced over a 20-year run,
Competition Coupés are the rarest examples.
A successor to – and with its monocoque chassis, a
substantial improvement on – the earlier Mangusta, the mid-engined
Pantera made its world debut in 1970. Rather than unveil the
new car at Geneva or Turin, de Tomaso startled the European
sports car establishment by choosing the New York auto show
for the Pantera’s premier. There was a good reason for this.
Having negotiated in vain for control of an exotic Italian
carmaker, Henry Ford II turned to de Tomaso to create a
supercar that could provide a halo for Ford Motor Company
products and serve as a traffic-maker in Lincoln-Mercury
showrooms, as well as a trump for the Chevrolet Corvette.
In addition to financial considerations, Ford had styling
input, via designer Tom Tjaarda, and a partial stake in
Carrozzeria Ghia, then a de Tomaso subsidiary. As with the
earlier Mangusta, Ford also contributed V8 engine power, the
5.8-litre Cleveland 351 – robust and durable, delivering big
thrust at low rpm, making it ideal for the American buyers,
which was the core of the concept: an affordable (initially
offered at $10,000) Italian supercar for the U.S. market.
Ford and de Tomaso envisioned big sales numbers, and by
Ferrari or Lamborghini standards, that’s what they achieved:
6,091 sales from 1971 through 1974 (the duration of the
joint venture) according to Lincoln-Mercury records,
although this may have fallen somewhat short of
expectations.
While the production Pantera was playing to rave reviews in
New York, plans were already underway for a racing version,
conceived primarily for FIA Group 4 sports car racing, where
it would contend with Ferraris and Porsches, although the
factory also developed a car for the less demanding Group 3
specification, which catered to the privateer gentleman
drivers.
The competizone edition of the Pantera was introduced late
in 1971. In addition to extensive mass-reduction measures to
make the FIA Group 4’s 2,756-pound minimum weight for the
1972 season, alterations included suspension revisions, with
variable ride height and Koni adjustable shock absorbers,
plus fibreglass wing flares covering wider cast magnesium
rims from Campagnolo (14-inch front, 15-inch rear) and
bigger vented disc brakes from Lockheed, with four-piston
callipers. The car had a 560 bhp, 5,763 cc overhead valve V8
engine, four Weber carburettors, five-speed manual gearbox,
independent front suspension with upper and lower wishbones
with coil springs, adjustable shock absorbers and antiroll
bar, independent rear suspension with upper and lower
wishbones, coil springs, radius rod and antiroll bar,
four-wheel vented disc brakes.
Like the production Pantera, power was supplied by Ford’s
sturdy 5.8-litre Cleveland V8, mated with a five-speed ZF
gearbox. However, the engines used for Group 4 propulsion
went from Ford’s Cleveland foundry to the race shops at Bud
Moore Engineering in Spartanburg, South Carolina for a power
infusion before going to Modena. Output for the standard
Pantera engine was quoted at 310 horsepower. The Bud Moore
treatment of 12.0:1 compression ratio, TRW forged pistons,
racing cams, heavy duty valve springs, titanium valves, a
big four-barrel Holley racing carburettor and larger oil pan
raised peak output close to 500 horsepower – enough to
propel the Pantera to 180 mph on the Mulsanne Straight at Le
Mans.
In all, 14 Competition Coupés were created in the original
run of race cars, which lasted about a year from late 1971
into late 1972. Initially built to Group 3 specifications,
chassis number 05855 was completed in 1974, then brought
back to the factory to be converted to the more aggressive
Group 4 level of preparation in 1975. It retains the
5.8-litre Ford V8, but unlike the first series of Group 4
Panteras, it’s fed by four Weber 48IDA twin-choke
carburettors and fired by a Magnetti Marelli ignition
system. So equipped, the engine is rated for 560 horsepower.
In a car weighing less than 2,600 pounds, this yields some
impressive performance numbers – comparable to, and in some
cases exceeding, those of a Ford GT40. This was particularly
true in Panteras equipped with the 600-horsepower “sprint”
version of the engine, which was part of this car’s
powertrain inventory during the 1970s, along with the less
tightly wound 560-horsepower “endurance” version.
The upgrade from Group 3 to Group 4 specifications was not
an exercise in mere showmanship; this car has an extensive
competition history. In fact, according to information
provided by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organizers
of the Le Mans 24-hour race, chassis 5855 was to be entered
along with a sister car, 5519, in the famous 24-hour
endurance race. For reasons unknown, a second car was not
entered and 05855 never went to Le Mans. The car was later
acquired by a driver who affected a single name, Kabibo, for
competition and was campaigned extensively in Italian
National Mountain Championship events from 1977 through
1985. Kabibo entered the Pantera in at least 40 events
during a very active career, which included the Trento
Bondone Hill Climb three years in a row (1977-1979), the
1979 Coppa Intereuropa, the 1981 and 1983 Coppa Nissena, the
XV° Trofeo Valle Camonica in 1981 and the 19th Coppa Paolino
Theodori in 1980, to name just a few races. Today the car
remains very original and almost exactly as it was as it
finished its last race, with the correct period interior and
period correct livery.
When Kabibo moved on, the Pantera went to a new owner, in
Nice, who suffered an engine failure with the “sprint”
version of the engine in a hillclimb event, his only
competition outing with the car. The endurance engine was
reinstalled, and the Pantera was restored to a state of
race-ready perfection—low, lean, potent and suffused with a
purposeful sophistication that is still beautiful today.
This De Tomaso Pantera Gr. IV offers its new owner GT40
levels of power for a fraction of the price and a period
competition history that renders it eligible for many of the
main historic race series and events – from the Le Mans
Classic and the Classic Endurance Series to the Tour Auto
and Tour Britannia. It can be road registered and in the
right hands could be very competitive against the Gr. IV
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytonas or the Porsche 911 RSRs. It is
tremendously powerful and, as stated by the vendor, ”you
certainly will not get bored with over 500 bhp under your
right foot!” Estimate is £190,000-£240,000.
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