SPOTTED: DE TOMASO PANTERA GTS

[3GO]

Tipped off about the gassing, I have had a look and can see this is Steve's GT5S that has started the conversation. The GT5S (Not GTS) is the GT5 with flared steel arches instead of the glass fibre ones that were fitted to the GT5. Many a debate has been had in the Club as to whether the Panteras look better with or without the rear wing and its down to the personal choice of the owner. Of course I am biased as my GT5 '3GO' has the arches and wing as standard. Many of the earlier cars from the 70's were updated with a GT5 bodykit as it gave it a more brutal look. The cars in the 80's were much more of a hand built affair, with leather and wood in abundance in the cockpit, compared to the original standard fit of black vinyl. Over the last 16 years of ownership, I have often thought about replacing it, but cannot think of another car that better fits the title of 'Thug of all Supercars'. That said.......... I would swap with a Zonda in a heartbeat ;-)
We regularly go on Euro trips and I have attached a link to our last trip to Spa (and the 'Ring, yikes thats another story!!) if you have 6 minutes to kill on You Tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94HSdaM0agk

[Transmitter Man]

andicog said:

Ah the deep dish alloys on the back, is it me or are these missing on modern cars? You can keep all the new stuff, early super cars just had a certain something for me. Love it.

The wheels are not original on the cover car.

Originals were 15" Magnesium Campagnola's and yes there is a bit of offset.

On modern cars they move the corners out as far as possible - end rwesult is I believe better handling but not so mean in the looks department.

My car has the 10" wide 15" Pantera front wheels as the rears.

Pantera stock rear wheels were 13" wide and 14" for the Group 4 race cars.

They shared the Countachs 345/35/15 rear Pirelli's.

Some rather nice after-market 17's that at least do justice to the originals but are noticeably heaver:



You want dish:



...and finally for your viewing pleasure the very last registered RHD Pantera GT5S - with the correct wheels:



Phil

[Stevie Mojo]

DonkeyApple said:

Yes yes, I like this too. Very much.

[vsonix]

Always loved these, and as a kid (still now tbh) considered them more 'exotic' than their contemporary Prancing Horses and Bulls.
If Audi can have Lambo, and make it work well, then BMW should hopefully be able to surpass that with DiTomaso.

[hilly10]

I loved it when I was 15 in the seventies and I still love it now

[jezuk]

Personally I love this, however - if someone had posted this as a kit car, everyone would be ripping into it like an all you can eat Chinese buffet.

[tch911]

I'm sure that BMW are likely picking up the brand for the high-end SUV and prestige saloon market in Asia rather than relaunching a Pantera.

Not a bad thing as I am another fan of the originals. I pick mine up at 10am tomorrow for a first drive of it's new 393ci and 471bhp engine...

[EBruce]

My father bought this car new from a Lincoln Mercury dealer in 73. It was the car that turned me into a car nut at a very early age.

On a recent trip back to Detroit I took it our for an afternoon and it brings bigger smiles and more thumbs up than my V8 Vantage. A truly incredible car and one that I hope will be passed down some day.

[EBruce]

1973 plate from first registration. Its a 1974 GTS, one of less than 50 true GTS's in the US

[Asterix]

tch911 said:

I'm sure that BMW are likely picking up the brand for the high-end SUV and prestige saloon market in Asia rather than relaunching a Pantera.

Not a bad thing as I am another fan of the originals. I pick mine up at 10am tomorrow for a first drive of it's new 393ci and 471bhp engine...

Not often I get jealous on this site..

Ya bastid - awesome

[Asterix]

jezuk said:

Personally I love this, however - if someone had posted this as a kit car, everyone would be ripping into it like an all you can eat Chinese buffet.

Whysatden?

[Auxois]

" "Of course, the concept of an off-the-shelf engine installed in a low-slung body is by no means by many imitators. Look at early TVRs and Marcoses, and even now marques like Ginetta and Wiesmann."

You left out Pagani, surely the most suitable comparison in this case."


Please get your facts straight. Pagani doesn't exactly use "off-the-shelf"-engines, do they?


Oh, and the guy saying that the Pantera was the first supercar; that's just wrong. I can name several supercars that precedes the Pantera (Miura anyone?).



But with that said - I _so_ want a proper (LHD) early Pantera

[Dave Hedgehog]

LewisR said:

y2blade said:

Fap Fap Fap

That's just wrong.

and yet so right

[Transmitter Man]

Not a bad thing as I am another fan of the originals. I pick mine up at 10am tomorrow for a first drive of it's new 393ci and 471bhp engine...


[/quote]

Tom,

That looks very nice with the 180's.

I live 50m from the Brompton Road so when you come through central London I'm sure I'll hear you:-)

My car has a 408ci stroker motor but I went for a mild cam for maximum torque due to the car being no lightweight, 412 BHP % 425 lb/ft and have converted my car from it's original 3-sp auto to a 5-sp stick shift.

Phil

[Ryan9078]

These cars are amazing. I remember first seeing one on that god awful film with David Carradine. The car gets blown up early on but what a car! Cant remember the name of the film

[TEKNOPUG]

Weren't these available for buttons 20 years ago? I remember the landlord of a nearby pub having one, white and bedecked withwings.

Cool cars although difficult to put a value on.

[militantmandy]

j_s14a said:

"Of course, the concept of an off-the-shelf engine installed in a low-slung body is by no means by many imitators. Look at early TVRs and Marcoses, and even now marques like Ginetta and Wiesmann."

You left out Pagani, surely the most suitable comparison in this case.

But the engines Pagani use are designed only for them, not available off the shelf.

[Blown2CV]

tch911 said:

I'm sure that BMW are likely picking up the brand for the high-end SUV and prestige saloon market in Asia rather than relaunching a Pantera.

Yep, and which I will never forgive them for! What the fk are they thinking?!

[fushion julz]

RichTBiscuit said:

Lovely.

But desperately needs the original wheels putting back on.... Those alloys look like they've been nicked from a skyline

Which ones? The advert shows 3 different sets of wheels fitted to the car...Cross spoke BBS type, BMW M-parallel type (in gold) and a turbine type...

[cnut]

OOOOoooo!! One of my dream cars back when I was a nipper in the late 80s. My dad always use to rave on about these. Does anyone remember when Big Breakfast had a sound off against different supercars? The De Tomaso Pantera was featured and obviously won, loud and brutal as I remember

Didn't these also have the widest rear tyres of any car bar the Countach when it was released?