Subscribe to download
1972 Detomaso Pantera

The Pantera is a mid-engined sports car produced by the De Tomaso car company of Italy from 1971 to 1992.

Italian for "Panther", the Pantera was the automaker's most popular model, with over 7,000 manufactured over its 20-year production.

The car was designed by the Italian design firm Ghia by American born designer Tom Tjaarda and replaced the De Tomaso Mangusta. Unlike the Mangusta, which employed a steel backbone chassis, the Pantera was a steel unibody design, the first instance of De Tomaso using this construction technique.[citation needed] The Pantera logo included a version of Argentina's flag turned on its side with a T-shaped symbol that was the brand used by De Tomaso's Argentinian cattle ranching ancestors.

The first 1971 Panteras were powered by a Ford 351 cu in (5.8 L) V8 engine producing a 330 hp (246 kW; 335 PS). The high torque provided by the Ford engine reduced the need for excessive gear changing at low speeds: this made the car much less demanding to drive in urban conditions than many of the locally built competitor products.