Fully Restored 1974 De Tomaso Pantera GT5

On a hot Texas summer day at a Mustang open meet, you don't really expect to come across a fully restored De Tomaso. Yet, that's exactly what happened. Among a sea of modded 5.0's, replica shelbys, and a few mustang variations I can't even describe there sat a few examples of vehicles that took the boat to get here. 

This was the first Pantera I can remember seeing in person so I took a bit to jot down some notes so that I could share them.

This white De Tomaso Pantera is come from the just the fourth year of production of the model named for a 'panther'. By far the most popular model for the carmaker, this car is one of 7260 produced through 1971-1993.

Still a very rare car even with the models popularity. Apparently the vehicle spent time exploring the world before settling down here in 1986 when it was then fully restored to its original condition. My kind of car. 

The Pantera

The car was actually designed by the design firm Ghia, which also produced some of their own vehicles like the Karmann and the 230 S. The steel chassis was the first implementation of the steel monocoque - french for single hull - design which allows the structure of the vehicle to be supported by the external body vs. the traditional internal frame of most cars.

The market forces of the time were such that luxuries of the day were in high demand and the Panterra featured many new niceties.

It came standard with electric windows, air conditions and a buzzing mechanism for when the doors were open. Although why they wanted the doors to be buzzing is one of those interesting history questions we may never answer!

From a mechanical perspective, the Pantera was also equipped with power-assisted all wheel disc brakes and rack and pinion steering standard which was tech forward for the time.

Vehicle Restoration

This vehicle was purchased back in 1986, when it then began the long journey of a ground up restoration to restore it to the former glory of the GT5 specification.

As you can see from the level of detail and precision in the metal work on the restoration, no costs were spared to get this GT5 back to like-new condition. The result of the restoration was quite a success and has drawn acclaim from a variety of shows and events across the country.

It won the peoples choice award at the XXII POCA las Vegas rally in 2003, Exotic Sportscars at the World of Wheels Auto show in 1990 and more...

Pantera Specifications

- Weight: 3100lb

- Wheelbase 99.0in

- Engine: OHV V-8

- Displacement 10.5:1

- HP 640 @ 5800 rpm

- Torque 625lb-ft@4300RPM

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