Another Hybrid: ’72 DeTomaso Pantera
We have seen quite a few DeTomaso Panteras but none that called out to us like this one. That doesn’t mean that the others were inferior, they just didn’t have a story like this one. First, a short version on how the Pantera came to be. Henry Ford wasn’t satisfied with vanquishing Ferrari at LeMans. He still craved owning an Italian carmaker. He thought the Mangusta that DeTomaso built was very interesting but he liked the car that was in development better. It was designed Tom Tjaarda while he worked at Ghia. The 351 Ford Cleveland fit snugly amidships and a deal was struck. It was to be marketed by Lincoln-Mercury dealers with a volume ambition of 10,000. It was introduced in 1970 with really sketchy quality and reeked of being under developed. The early cars were plagued with problems. Happily, modern technology can fix pretty much all of those. So a really well cared for Pantera that hasn’t been cobbled up along the way can be made into a really interesting ride. Today’s find is just that car. The seller is the 2nd owner and he purchased it in 1973. We surmise the 1st owner had little patience and staying power. The seller is now 80 years old and it is time to find a new custodian. The 57,000 original mile car is a color change car but we don’t care because this Anthracite Grey looks terrific. Much better than the bright yellow it once was. It has an original interior, air cleaner, documents and the ZF gearbox. Valuations on these run from $38,000 to $65,000. The asking price is probably close to where it should be at $55,000. But we can’t be sure until you are face to face with it to inspect the quality of the color change and condition of the mechanicals. Click on the link to get to the Craigslist ad.