Not Just a Pretty Face
In the years 1965-66, Bob Dylan recorded 3 albums which embody one of the most astonishing streaks of sustained creative brilliance of all time. Bringing it all Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde showcased thirty four tracks, not a single one less than first rate, and, astonishingly, nine are genuinely classifiable as ‘masterpieces.’ Talking about what he was striving to achieve, Dylan said: The closest I ever got to the sound I hear in my mind was on the Blonde on Blonde album. It’s that thin, wild mercury sound. It’s metallic and bright gold, with whatever that conjures up. It brings to me, in a visual aesthetic analogy, the sharp – yet harmoniously integrated – angular forms that are the automobile bodies created in 1970-73 by Marcello Gandini in a mid-‘60s Dylan-like purple patch. Limbering up in 1967-69 with sharp-lined ‘concept’ cars such as the Lamborghini Marzal and the Alfa Romeo Carabo, Gandini’s razor-like shapes appeared on the road as the Lamborghini Jarama, Urraco and Countach, Lancia Stratos HF, FIAT X1/9, Maserati Khamsin and Ferrari/Dino 308 GT4. This substantial cadre of cars, with a shared visual mood, represents the very best of early Seventies style, except . . . there was one more such contemporary model that was not envisaged on Gandini’s drawing board. Theoretically, perhaps, it could have taken shape on one nearby Gandini’s, since it is comprised to a considerable extent of the angular lines and forms he himself constructed so successfully. And, somehow, its creator had also been able to incorporate – at a hinted, subtle level – some curvilinear elements that contributed to a balance of supreme litheness at the front end with a muscular heft characterising the rear quarters. This hybrid theme extends to the product ‘package’ – Italian coachbuilding/American power unit; to marque ownership – Argentinian/Italian, and to styling authorship: Tom Tjaarda, an American, (whose father was Dutch-born), based at Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin.
Alejandro de Tomaso founded his marque in Modena in 1959. When his focus turned from his initial interest in racing cars to sports cars for the road, De Tomaso embarked on the production of a series of GTs, culminating in the Guarà , made from 1993 to 2004, (at which date the company failed). The Pantera model preceded the Guara, with a production run begun in 1971, of some 7,000 units. A conventional monocoque, the Pantera was powered by a Ford 5.8 litre V8 coupled to a ZF transaxle. Performance was quoted as 0-60 mph in 5.5 secs and a top speed of 159 mph. Successive iterations included a GTS model with higher output engine, and a Si version late in the production run.
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| Early standard De Tomaso Pantera |
The
Pantera was not just eye candy. Ford was
enjoying the glow that its success in motor sport had generated through the
late Sixties. Four consecutive Le Mans
victories, 1966-69 and the dominance in Formula One of the Ford-badged Cosworth
DFV engine had done wonders for image building and marketing. Dearborn management was keen to add to its
new exotic GT’s customer appeal by ensuring that it was highly visible and
achieved success on American race circuits.
As a first step, in early 1972, a Group 3-compliant version was made
available. As such, because it was a
class allowing only very limited modifications, it was really just a mild
upgrading of the GTS variant. Most
significant was an increase in engine power, from 330 bhp for the standard car,
to 345 bhp, achieved with a higher compression ratio, better breathing and
freer exhaust gas flow. Also notable, were
wider wheels, (Campagnolo alloys), 8 inch at the front, 10 inch rear.
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| Early Group 3 Pantera |
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The first batch of Group 3 Panteras were built between December 1971 and April 1972. It is commonly given that 34 Group 3 Panteras were manufactured, but former De Tomaso director, Giorgio Montagnani, has been quoted as saying that the number was 36. Further, he recalled that 6 of these were full ‘works’ racecars and 4 rally versions of a similar status. The prototype, chassis #1070, was purchased in March 1972 by Auto Club Roma. This car was raced extensively in Italy throughout the decade, by Auto Club and its subsequent owners, Ital Atlantic Express, and then Marco Curti. Racingsportscars.com records a career of 7 years, with 19 events entered, and 3 class wins. (This tally does not, however, include results for the initial two seasons.) |
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| #1070 at Magione, 1974 |
The FIA class regulations of the time offered
a greater potential for success in the Group 4 category. This allowed for modifications to aspects of
the car that constituted its weaker aspects: weight, suspension, steering and
braking. The standard engine was not
such a feature, but still was the subject of upgrading, (mainly around gas flow
optimisation), taking output up to around 450 bhp. This increase in power, together with a reduction
of weight by around 300kg, enabled good potential class competitiveness. However, a set-back occurred when
an unexpected revised regulation minimum weight was announced, this being some 150 kg above
that achieved by development work including the use of aluminium in
substitution for steel in major panels, fibreglass wing extensions, plastic
‘glass’ and stripped out interior. A
further issue arose during testing as engine reliability became a concern. This would eventually be addressed by the
adoption of lower compression values. Various
sources indicate that De Tomaso built 14 Group 4 Panteras.
At the La Sarthe event, a Claude Dubois-entered car, chassis #2860, crewed by Jean-Marie Jacquemin/Yves Deprez finished 16th, 2nd in class. Three other Panteras were entered, two for Escuderia Montjuich, the other for Societé Franco-Brittanic, but they were all early retirements with blown cylinder head gaskets.
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| #2860 at Le Mans, 1972 |
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#2859 at Nivelles,
1972 In 1973 reliability improved and in June works-entered #2873 won in Euro GT at Imola in the hands of Mike Parkes. This was a particularly satisfying victory for De Tomaso, as Parkes had been hard at work in ’72 developing the Group 4 version of the Pantera.  #2873 at Imola, 1973 Two months later another ‘big name’ – Clay Regazzoni – took the same car to victory at the Hockenheim round.  #2873 at Hockenheim,
1973 That car certainly earned its keep that season – in October it was a winner once again, this time in the Giro d’Italia with Mario Casoni and Rafaelle Minganti at the wheel.  Casoni was apparently fully au-fait with the Pantera by late season, having achieved another first-place, this time in #2872, the previous month at Casale. Other Pantera victories in 1973 included Croix-en-Ternois, by Patrick Metral, and at Varano, by Ugo Locatelli. 1974
saw a substantial number of race entries for Panteras. Odoardo Govoni scored 3 victories in the
Spring at Magione and (twice) at Varano.
A repeat win in the Giro d’Italia was missed, but Govoni and Vincenzo
Angelelli's was the best placed of 7 Panteras entered, finishing 3rd. Four cars ran in the Targa Florio, that of
Alex Pesenti-Rossi and Alvaro Valtellina being the highest finisher, in 13th. At Le Mans, Wicky Racing Team intended to run
two cars, but only that of Max Cohen-Olivar and Philippe Carron started, and
was out early with timing gear failure.  Wicky Racing Team at
Le Mans, 1974 Once again, in 1975,
Panteras covered a great many racing miles, but no victories are on
record. Govoni was again a prominent
exponent at the wheel, and he was the most successful driver, scoring 2nd
places at both the September and November GT events at the Magione
circuit. Partnering Ruggero Parpinelli,
he also finished 8th, (and 5th in class), at the Targa Florio. Four cars ran at Le Mans, but only the early
chassis, #2860, still run by Team Claude Dubois and now driven by Pierre Rubens
and Paolo Bozzetto, made it to the finish, in 16th place, (8th in class), just
as it had done in ’72.   #2860
at Le Mans, 1975 No less than 10 Panteras were entered for the Giro d’Italia, with the Jolly Club car, driven by Bozzetto and Marco Martinenghi taking 5th place, (3rd in class). Highlights of the 1976 season were victories for Pierre Rubens (Team Willeme) at both Zolder and Colmar-Berg, four other podium positions in Europe, and three in Australia. Although there was a greatly reduced participation at Le Mans and the Targa Florio, seven Panteras ran in the Giro d’Italia, with Govoni and Valentino Balboni finishing 6th.  #2873 Giro d’Italia,
1976 In the early stages of the 1977 season, Rene Tricot, (Team Willeme), took three victories in Belgium, while in November, Maurizio Micangeli and Carlo Pietromarchi scored a significant win in the Group 4/5 event at Vallelunga. Four cars took part in the Giro d’Italia, Pietromarchi and Giancarlo Naddeo coming 3rd.  Carlo Pietromarchi/Giancarlo
Naddeo, Giro d’Italia, 1977 For
the remainder of the Seventies, Panteras continued to feature in numbers in
national/European series racing, but results were mediocre, with just the
occasional win/podium finish. During the
Eighties, participation fell to lower levels, with the cars being considerably
less competitive. This trend persisted
in the Nineties, except that in 1995 Thorkild Thyrring was a major force for
ADA Engineering in the British GT series, winning the GT1 class championship.  Thorkild
Thyrring, British GT, Silverstone, 1995 Today
– and in recent times – Panteras are to be seen competing with verve in
Historic meetings. Excellent
video is available of the Group 4 example of Luigi Moreschi on the 2018
Vernasca Silver Flag event. To enjoy the
sight and sound of a Group 3 car running at Spa recently, have a look at this video. A Group 4 Pantera, #2598, is currently
offered for sale, having been competing with considerable success in Romania.  #2598, racing in Romania You may have wondered why I opened this piece with an encomium to Marcello Gandini in relation to a car actually styled by rival, Tom Tjaarda. Much as I admire Gandini’s work, I’m sorry to say that I think he despoiled Tjaarda’s masterpiece: In 1989, Alejandro de Tomaso insisted that the job of facelifting the Pantera for 1990 be awarded to Gandini’s consultancy. What resulted was the Si. The main focus of the exercise was on the
front end. A ‘heavier,’ more curvy,
character was conferred by redesigned/rescaled front wings and bumper. The effect on the car’s overall form and
stance was a loss of the pleasing balanced contrast between a svelte front and
a burly centre/rear section. To some
eyes this may have resulted in a more consistent, cohesive design, but, as
such, the Pantera’s body was no longer a physical analogy of its hybrid nature
– Latin style and dynamic flair combined with American motive heft.
I have derived much information from the excellent www.racingsportscars.com. This is an invaluable source of data for anyone researching motor sport history. For the De Tomaso Pantera, refer here: https://www.racingsportscars.com/type/archive/De%20Tomaso/Pantera.html Other essential resources are: http://www.detomasoregistry.org/
http://panterainternational.org/detomaso_history/europes_pantera.html
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