De Tomaso Panthera Concept: Born Again?
Motoring Channel Staff - 31/March/2008
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De Tomaso Panthera Concept
The reborn De Tomaso Panthera would
be powered by a 5.2-litre V10 engine
With equal parts American muscle and Italian
exotica, the new De Tomaso design is impressive
From this angle the Panthera concept
looks similar to the Ford GT super car
Could the De Tomaso Panthera make a comeback?
The original De Tomaso Pantera
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Essen, Germany —
The De Tomaso Pantera sports car first saw the light of day in the
early '70s and was favoured by big name celebrities such as Elvis
Presley. And it looks as though a comeback is on the cards. Pantera
means Panther in Italian, and while the original sports car was an
Italian design motivated by American muscle - originally a 5.8-litre
Ford V8 - its proposed successor would use Lamborghini technology. The
new De Tomaso Panthera Concept is literally a dream car: designer
Stefan Schulze has been trying to get investors to back his design
project since 2007. But would rich customers want to pay the price, which is expected to be close to half a million Australian dollars? While
it features a daring retro design that employs many of the elements
that made the original Pantera such an exotic muscle car, it would
be based on the existing platform of a Lamborghini Gallardo. It
wouldn't be unreasonable for fans of the 1970s De Tomaso Pantera to
feel upset that the rear-wheel drive, V8 setup has been dropped in
favour of an all-wheel drive V10 layout. In reality it would
probably be a much safer car to drive with an AWD setup. The original
Pantera was known to be a real handful and was considered a death
trap by some. In a couple of instances high profile celebrity owners perished after crashing the super-quick sports cars. Based on the baby Lamborghini's underpinnings, and assuming it was lighter, the De
Tomaso Pantera Concept could be capable of accelerating from zero to
100km/h in around 4.0 seconds flat, and judging by its low roofline
it's aerodynamics a top speed of close to 300km/h (186mph) wouldn't be
out of the question.It could be a true contender. Based on the
Gallardo's platform the price would be very high, but with such a bold
design, which is equal parts American muscle and Italian
exotic, the rebornDe Tomaso Panthera Concept could acquire the momentum it needs to eventually arrive on the super car market. Related articles:
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Superleggera (2007)
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- Lamborghini Murcielago (Road Test)
- Lamborghini Murcielago LP640
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- Lamborghini Gallardo
- Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
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