De Tomaso Pantera (Italy, 1970-1991)

In 1971 the Italian car company De Tomaso started building the Pantera model, a sports coupe that lasted for two decades on the markets – until 1991.
‘Pantera’ means ‘panther’ in Italian, giving the car a fairly wild and sleek image.
In the course of its 20-year lifetime, 7.260 De Tomaso Pantera cars were built.

De Tomaso produced only one generation of its legendary model Pantera, which lasted, however, for two whole decades. It was launched in 1971 and produced until 1991.
The Pantera became the Italian brand’s most recognizable and important production car, even until nowadays, although the first units that came out from the factory suffered from poor quality build. During its 20-year lifespan, however, the Pantera was always being improved non-stop.
By the time the De Tomaso Panteras stopped being produced, over 7.200 units had been built.

The De Tomaso Pantera is powered by a 5.8-liter Ford Cleveland V8 mid-engine. The first Panteras on the road produced 330 hp, but some later versions were launched with lower power outputs that were close to 250 hp.
The fastest a De Tomaso Pantera could be was at approximately 159 mi/h (256 km/h), except for the mid-1980’s version that reached its top speed at 165 mi/h (265 km/h).
The rear-wheel driven Pantera runs through a 5-speed manual transmission.

Steel monocoque frame.   Platform (no data)   Suspension (no data)   Steering Rack-and-pinion steering.   Brakes Power-assisted and ventilated four-wheel disc brakes, being cross-drilled at the front.

Tom Tjaarda designed the Pantera’s bodystyle and then the Italian couchbuilder Carrozeria Vignale handbuilt the car’s body.
De Tomaso Pantera’s door handles were famous for their ‘push-button’ system.