When you run out of classic supercars to admire and dream about owning, you inevitably end up looking at the De Tomaso Pantera. Since you're here, reading this story, you probably know everything about this car's problems, but you've probably never seen this epic drift car.
That's because it doesn't exist in the real world. Such a car can probably only exist in the digital world because no sane person would put a lot of money into a car only a few people know about or admire.
Rendering artist mick_em_all put together for the fun of it and blended obvious elements from the Japanese tuning scene with this Italian supercar. More specifically, it's supposed to have the Liberty Walk body kit done in the same style as a 1970s Kenmeri Skyline.
Shop owner Kato Wataru has a very nice-looking Nissan sports car with blue paint and black fenders. It's an icon of both his tuning style and the Japanese scene, but we'd never think of applying that treatment to the Pantera. In fact, that supercar rarely comes up in any conversation.
De Tomaso made supercars from the '60s all the way to the early 2000s. People have tried to bring it back, with recent examples including one from Ares that's based on the Lamborghini Huracan.
The rendering looks a lot like the earlier Pantera models, which kept the Ghia styling quite pure. It's a wedge of blue cheese with a big wing at the back and some Japanese spice on the fenders. Later, the car started looking a bit more like a flashy copy of the Countach, with fiberglass wings and spoilers.
The Pantera came out with a 5.8-liter (351ci) Ford V8 engine making about 330 horsepower. Unlike many Italian supercars, it also had conveniences like air conditioning and electric windows because America was its primary market.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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