Classic, exotic Italian supercars don’t really have a reputation for great reliability, but this 1974 DeTomaso Pantera tries to prove the opposite on a nice drive alongside Shawn Davis, the host of the AutotopiaLA channel on YouTube. Of course, this being one of his childhood dream cars, it’s probably safe to assume he would have covered for any issues.
The Pantera (which is Italian for Panther) is most famous for a few things. No, we’re not talking about the legend regarding Elvis Prestley, his yellow 1971 example, and handgun incidents. Instead, we're talking about this supercar’s odd relationship with both Europe and the United States.
That’s because, unlike other Italian exotics, the Pantera was mostly sold (allegedly, at least three-quarters of total production) in the United States through Lincoln-Mercury dealerships. And Ford didn’t just act on the kindness of its corporate heart, but above all, because it’s another lovely example of a hybrid, just like Shelby’s Cobra.
As such, it was styled by Ghia's American-born designer Tom Tjaarda, built in Italy, and powered by the 351 ci (5.8-liter) Ford Cleveland V8, while the dogleg ZF transmission is the same as the one in the GT40, only with a flipped case. Better yet, this black example we see in the video embedded below is also a clear statement on what happened once the Pantera arrived in America; yes, it was modified.
According to the owner of this black beauty, the 1974 Pantera underwent a major transformation back in the nineties, courtesy of Hall Pantera. The latter added a complete GT4 (some like to call them GT5 as well) widebody kit to make it look as if ready for a racetrack showdown.
We also find out from the 2:35 mark that the Ford motor has been modified as well, sporting an Electromotive injection system and all the necessary NoS elements (though it’s been lacking a bottle for some time now). Even without the latter’s intervention, this V8 could sport some 550 hp back in the day.
That should suffice to make Shawn smile (a lot) during the driving part, which kicks off from the 5:50 mark. Needless to say, when the Pantera is one of those childhood dream cars, one can only say that it’s “crazy how heavy this steering is on this, for one it’s all manual and then you have that big tire on the ground.”
He’s, of course, referring to the meaty front specification (a 285 one, the 335s belong to the rear if we recall that correctly), but above all, his reaction to driving this widebody Pantera can actually be surmised in way fewer words: “this car is just bitchin’...”
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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