De Tomaso Pantera

If it has a "project car" price, then sure, I could be talked into one. PM me with a price this week, please.

 

uh-oh...the sharks are circling....lol!

I have sent pm's...

 

I might be interested, let me know, thanks.

 

Hans,

I don't post much but have a fair amount of experience with Panteras. My cousin has one in jet black that looks quite menacing. I have driven it to and from Pocono Raceway from Pittsburgh twice, going to La Belle Machine, including track time. Here is how I would break it down for you. First the negatives. I would agree with sjtom in that at 6'4" you will be quite cramped. I am 6'0" and with a helmet on my head, it is pretty much in the in the roof all the time. The clutch is very heavy and engages over a very small amount of travel very near the top of its range of motion (in this car). The tranny is fine and once you are moving things are pretty good but getting going is not fun. You do not have much room in the foot wells which may bother those less dedicated than a true car lover as those huge tires take up a lot of space. It doesn't help that my cousin is 5'9" and the seat is bolted to the floor. The a/c is disconnected. The car is loud, has great road presence if that is important to you and is pretty comfy over the six hour drive from Pittsburgh to Pocono. If stuck in traffic you will be hating life after a short while. I haven't been in a 328, but compared to the boxer, 308 and 360s I have been in, the pantera is by far the most cramped. He has had a few issues with the electrical system with shorting wires that can be a pain given the box location but not sure how you could prevent it without replacing the whole system. He doesn't get even 10 mpg if you open her up much, which of course you will. I have a high tolerance to some inconvenience but truthfully, I would not drive it daily if you had any stop and go traffic to deal with regularly.

Now the positives. Now his has had some work and puts out around 620 horses so as you can imagine, acceleration is spirited to say the least. It is still the normally aspirated 351 though. It handles very well on the track in my opinion, but does demand some respect. If you drop too much throttle in a corner it will rotate pretty quickly and if you don't react immediately you will spin it before you know what happened if you are not used to that type of thing. Not sure how hard you push your cars, but the front end can get a little lite at over 155 or so. He is still trying to get that fixed with a new front air dam. I find the street ride as firm but not over the top in any way. You will have to sit in one and drive it to see if these are things that appeal to you or are deal breakers. At Pocono, we usually stayed at the same hotel as the Eastern Pantera Association guys so I have been in and near a lot of cars. You will see them cover the whole gamut from nearly stock to this one that has had some serious power enhancements. They are a good group of guys who really support the cars and those interested in them.

Good luck in you search. They are pretty unique and interesting cars. I like them a lot but I would not own one myself. It isn't as reliable in my experience as the prancing horses. But as a something different weekend car or track car, they have a lot to offer. I hope this helps give you some more info.

Mike

 

And the designer....he was an American although he was working for Ghia when he designed it and still lives and works in Torino.

I was sort of looking for a Pantera when I bought my 308. I still haven't driven a Pantera so I can't comment about much. It sure would be nice to go to my local NAPA for parts instead of hunting all over the net though!

 

I have made a film about tyre fitment for the Pantera.

 

A friend of mine in Germany is considering to sell his Group 5 spec Pantera.
Quite an interesting car.
Here it is last year, at Daytona Raceway...
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Interesting that Panteras have now eclipsed 308s in value.

 

I owned a '73 Pantera that I loved. As many have noted, it was an absolute beast! At the time, I owned it and a Jalpa, and then later a 308. The 308 and the Jalpa were similar in performance and feel, with the Lambo being a little quicker and with an unbelievably stiff accelerator linkage. The word I used for the pantera was "Nasty"....I once was talking to my secretary where I worked and she was making fun of how particular I was with my cars, covering them up in the parking lot. I invited her for a ride in the Pantera. When we got to the interstate, I opened it up on the on-ramp. The car would hit about 100mph on the on-ramp. I looked over at her and she said, I get it".

I now have a 997 Porsche and a 328 Ferrari. I would still love to have a Pantera, but would not trade either of my current cars for one. Panteras are a blast to drive and fun to be seen in, but require a lot of compromise to live with. I once drove mine with the divider between the cabin and the engine missing. It was an uneasy feeling seeing the engine pulleys that close to my shoulder.

 

If you want one, there's a GT5-S on BaT right now.

 

My Dad right after he picked up the 308 ('78) with his Pantera also

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I have a (ferrari based) 332ci 308 like that. There is no replacement for displacement....so why are we comparing a 308 to a pantera when size, displacement, and power wise its nearly identical to a 512BB? 308s were group4, it appear patera group5 from the post above. Just doesn't seem a very good comparison, at least not until you get your 308 up to 5+ liters or give it a big supercharger.

 

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Having to be fortunate of owning both, I can tell you that each car has its own special feel and there is no comparison to each other, however, they are both a pleasure and blast to drive.


Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat

 

+1

 

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Dougal- Good job resurrecting a 16-year-old thread, but your video is missing.

 

Ha Ha!

does this work?

 

Dougal- Affirmative, that one works.

 

I also owned Pantera, 308 and 328. The Pantera is less sophisticated. The electrical is bad. The monocoque chassis is flexing a lot. The mechanical is strong and powerfull. When driving both it's easy to tell the Pantera was a cheap car compared to the Ferraris.
Would I want a Pantera again ? ANYTIME !