Original Family: ’73 DeTomaso Pantera L
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 featured Pantera L has been in the same family since new and always well cared for. It has lived in the dry Arizona desert so it is assured to be rust-free. It comes with all of the original paperwork including the original bill of sale and has a current Marti Report. The seller has $20,000 worth of receipts for work completed 1,000 miles ago. That includes a quality respray in the original color. The interior is immaculate and original. The engine bay has plenty of room and should be easy to keep clean. The Pantera behaves well in the hot Arizona summers too. This one is a keeper for sure and there is no doubt, a nice Pantera with all of the demons exiled is a nice exotic to own and a better one to drive. Sports Car Market Price Guide has them as a B rated collectible with 3 stars. Not many examples push above the $50,000 at auction. This one might. Click here for the listing.