Do Look Back: Lotus

A Vallelunga at the De Tomaso factory, Modena Courtesy Sports Car Digest

You won’t often catch me saying anything complimentary about Japanese cars – though I did love the Honda CRX I bought for my wife long ago – but it’s difficult to be too shirty about the Mazda MX5/Miata. It’s often been said that Tom Matano, key figure in the creation of the Miata, was much influenced by the De Tomaso Vallelunga, a car he was very pleased to own himself, (#0134). An interview with Matano was featured on the website of PI Motorsports, which includes the following passage:

PI: We know that you own a Vallelunga. Have you ever found out who designed it? Norbert MacNamara says it was Mario Fissore.

Matano: I spoke with Trevor Fiori who worked on the Elva BMW with Fissore about the same time the Vallelunga was in the works. He said that Mr. De Tomaso himself was working with Fissore and he didn’t see any other designer was involved.
PI: Do you think De Tomaso was trying to do a mini 250LM?
Matano: The original alloy bodied Vallelunga had a more 250 LM-like front end than the production fiberglass bodied car. It also had an entire rear half of the car which opens up for engine service just like the 250 LM. But, the similarity stops there. The side view profile of the Vallelunga is unique for a mid-ship layout car.
PI: What parts of the design do you like and what parts would you do over if you were updating it?

Matano: I like the 360-degree visibility the best, thanks to its low engine location. It is still very contemporary. It hasn’t dated at all in my opinion.

Making allowance for the passage of about three decades, you may find echoes of the Vallelunga in the Miata’s overall form, as seen below:

Left, Vallelunga, courtesy Bonhams Cars. Right, Miata, courtesy Dond90 (BaT)

If there are some visual similarities, the relative production numbers certainly diverged, bringing to mind the old saying, ‘less is more.’

But, to linger right in the middle of mainstream thinking, we need to acknowledge the Miata’s debt to the Lotus Elan in terms of concept, style and footprint. And while there, we can trace a connection back to the Vallelunga, since it too followed a Chapman lead in being built on a backbone chassis and powered by a Ford 4 cylinder engine. Notwithstanding the considerable circuit motorsport heritage already banked at Lotus by the mid-Sixties, the Vallelunga could be seen as more closely based on a pure racing car than the Elan. As well as the chassis form, the De Tomaso utilised the Ford block as an integral structural component, front suspension by wishbones with the rear controlled by multi-links, and disc brakes on all four corners – all much as had been seen on the Marque’s single seater race cars – F1, F2, F3 and Formula Junior, (called ‘Isis’) - constructed since ‘59. Possibly inspired by the Ferrari formula of dedication to motorsport but with funding flowing from the production/sale of road cars, De Tomaso crystalised his ambitions by embarking on the design and creation of a prototype stradale sports barchetta in ’62. This was put on show at the following year’s Turin Show, but drew no serious interest. Resilient as he was – some said ‘pig-headed!' - Alejandro gave Carrozzeria Fissore an order to rebody the chassis as a coupe. The Turin Show – one year on - was once again chosen to launch the resulting car, with design credited to the Carrozzeria’s stylist, Franco Maina. Reception was more positive this time and Fissore was contracted to undertake a production run of 15 aluminium bodies. A surviving prototype was restored in England in 2021 by the specialist workshop of Three Point Four. Excellent photographs of the car undergoing the renovation process can be seen here. Head of Business there, Roger Brotton, has told me that all the Fissore prototypes were identified with the same chassis number - #1606. Fissore, apparently, scrapped its own prototype in-period.

#1606 under restoration in ’21, courtesy Three Point Four

Fissore fulfilled the initial batch order in late ‘64/early ’65, though De Tomaso had already had some ‘developmental’ ideas which led to not all these bodies being used.

At least two ’64-made Vallelungas exist today, the earliest being chassis #0103. At this point I have to observe that, not unexpectedly, some of what’s been written previously and/or ‘loose’ record keeping at the factory, (in the Italy of the Sixties, surely not!), undermines the certainty with which I can write this narrative. In ’97, Thoroughbred and Classic Car published this:

The Vallelunga coupe was built from early 1964 by Fissore of Savigliano, but after three (some say five, but just one survivor is known) had been made De Tomaso transferred the contract to Ghia over whom he had begun to exercise influence, assuming control by 1967. The Ghia cars were 'productionized' with a one-piece fiberglass body and were on sale from July '65. Engine access was now via a lift-up Perspex rear window and a removable plywood deck lid. . .

Probably the anomaly here is over the understanding of the production date. This car is recorded as being first registered in the UK on 31^st December ’64. #0103 is a glass fibre car with opening rear window, whereas other sources suggest that no Ghia production occurred before ’65. The revised rear is a key feature which differentiates the Maina-designed coupes from the prototype barchetta, including the revised rear quarters where an opening glazed (Plexiglass) screen gave access to the engine rather than the original clamshell format. This car is also a very ‘pure’ De Tomaso, being to Competizione specification and thus a racing car that might occasionally serve purpose on normal roads. As such, its kerb weight was low, at around 700 Kg, while the stradale version is usually quoted at 726 Kg.

Courtesy Cottingham Blue Chip London

The car’s description for sale by DK Engineering notes engine power at 135 bhp, ‘thanks to the Cosworth enhanced cylinder head . . . The Hewland 4-speed transmission is mounted in a VW housing, rotated around for mid-engine placement.’

A standard Vallelunga had considerably less bhp on tap. Contrary to some accounts, the OE engine was the Ford Kent 1498 cc, pushrod unit, not the Lotus twin cam. However, the engines, on receipt at the De Tomaso factory in Modena, were modified to the extent of an upgraded cylinder head which facilitated a 24% increase in the compression ratio. Together with twin Weber 40DCOE2s, this enabled a power output of 104 bhp, one third up on its delivery in its original Cortina GT application.

Chassis #1611 is another Competizione example, equipped with a 1558 cc engine and Colotti five speed gearbox. Seen in period below:

#1611 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Repainted in yellow, the car was offered for sale by Bonhams in June 2014. The description referred to this as being one of only two right-hand drive Vallelungas built by De Tomaso, (other sources say there was only one). It was initially in Colonel Ronnie Hoare’s care when he was considering adding the De Tomaso franchise to his operations best known for the UK Ferrari import business, Maranello Concessionaires. He decided against this initiative after establishing that it would be impractical to incorporate the Lotus twin cam engine as a series upgrade, and he sold the car to racing driver, Robs Lamplough. However, #1611 does today benefit from having such a power plant nestling under its rear screen – see centre photograph below.

#1611 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Made in ’65, #0101, located in Holland, was sold on Bring a Trailer in 2024 for $260,000. The vendor asserted that this is the first glass fibre bodied Vallelunga made by Ghia after De Tomaso had halted construction of the aluminium version at Fissore. A reasonable claim, given the chassis number, which should be read in conjunction with the type number 807DT. Shown below are Vallelunga characteristic features, model-bespoke 13” magnesium alloy Campagnolo road wheels, chassis number stamping, and branded De Tomaso-modified cylinder head:

#0101 Courtesy ImageStreetClassics

0101 Courtesy ImageStreetClassics

#1612 is said to have been delivered to its first owner in ’66, but it is likely a ’65 build. A ‘VL’ designation is associated with the chassis number and the car’s recent vendors, Artcurial, claims this confirms it as a Competizione version. With this spirit in mind, a previous owner had installed a Lotus twin cam engine. The Artcurial auction – held in Monaco in July 2020 – resulted in a sale price of €313,200. Referring back to the Vallelunga’s limited sales success when new, Artcurial pointed out that it was priced the same as a Lancia Flaminia Zagato, causing many to find it poor value given the Lancia’s size, sophistication, including a 2.5 or 2.8 V6 engine, and the prestige/motorsport pedigree associated with Carrozzeria Zagato.

#1612 Courtesy Artcurial

Artcurial also handled the sale – for €226,480 - of a France-located, ’66 Vallelunga, (registered 801PL68), in 2015. At that time, it was in unrestored condition and reported to have had light, spasmodic use over the near half century since its original sale. The auction lot description includes a chassis number - 4236620 - which is not formatted in any similarity with those of other examples and is likely not a reading in error of the engine number. (This value on a Vallelunga OE block would be 10 position, (8 digits/2 characters), I believe). I subsequently discovered that Ruote Vecchie had in reporting on the sale, attributed the chassis number #0115 to this car. However . . . that chassis number appeared again, in October 2017, associated to a red “‘67” Vallelunga, (registered TON41126), on offer by Bonhams at Padova. I have been unable to contact the author of Ruote Vecchie, so I do not know the basis of their attribution of #0115 to the Artcurial-sold vehicle. Meanwhile, the latter is shown below, left, with the Bonhams-offered car to the right.

Left, “#4236620” Courtesy Artcurial; right, #0115 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Lou Costabile shot a YouTube video of John Weinberger’s Vallelunga, #0134, in ’17. He reported that John had owned the car long term in company with several other rare vehicles. John died in 2020 after a long career in automotive retailing and motorsport. Latterly he had been President and CEO of Illinois-located Continental Motors Group for over half a century. As seen below, his Vallelunga was fitted with a VIN plate to confirm compliance with required U.S. import technical regulations. Scott Martin‘s Vallelunga Registry records this as having been owned by Ricci (son of Dean) Martin, Dick Carr and Tom Matano.

#0134 Courtesy John Weinberger/Lou Costabile

€168,560 was the winning bid for #0106 when it was offered at a Belgian Bonham’s sale in June 2024. The lot description highlights the sporting upgrades featuring on this Vallelunga, including extended wheel arches/wider wheels and an ex-F3 engine with induction by big (48 mm) Webers and a supercharger. Views into the engine bay and of the cockpit are seen below:

#0106 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Though apparently to standard specification, #0128 was raced in the Sixties by its original owner. Subsequently it was imported to the U.S. and from’10-’18 it was subject to a full restoration project. The car featured in Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach auction in ’18. It was offered with an estimate of at $400,000-$475,000 but did not sell.

#0128 Courtesy Gooding & Company

Badges:

A rectangular De Tomaso marque badge is mounted centrally on the upper surface of the front panel:

On the rear panel, centrally pinned on the horizontal plane, are two script badges, ‘VALLELUNGA,’ and, usually above, ‘de tomaso.’ On at least two extant cars, the ‘VALLELUNGA’ script is missing, and, on #0101, the relative positions of the two badges is inverted.

A Ghia ‘BUILT BY’ marque flank badge is applied to both front wings between the trailing edge of the front wheel arch and the leading edge of the front door. (These are not extant on all surviving cars).

The marque badge features again on the wheel centre caps.

#0101 is fitted with a leather bound Ferrero sports wheel. Ferrero was a noted supplier to De Tomaso and is possibly also the manufacturer of this wood rimmed example, style and spokes detail very much as typical for the era. For more on Ferraro see here. Though an aftermarket fitment, a Momo 'Jackie Stewart' seems a very appropriate wheel for a Vallelunga. The rotation by 90° of the stripes on the horn button is also seen on some other versions of this component.

Literature:

Brochures:

Lower image is of a '65 edition

The consensus is that by the end of production, a total of 45-60 Vallelungas had been built. It may be that most of this number were made as a batch, mainly in ’65, though not all sales were completed until ’68. If, as seems confirmed, #0101 was the first Ghia-built chassis number, and #0146 the last known, 45 would be the built count. The most likely breakdown was: Aluminium prototypes, (including Spyder): 4; Ghia production, (including Competiziones):45.

As a ‘first attempt’ the Vallelunga had established De Tomaso as a maker of road cars and facilitated a great deal of learning about the management of series production. It thus was a positive factor in the company’s next development phase involving the creation of a considerably more complex model, the Mangusta. With a Ford 4.7 litre V8 engine and imposing coachwork by Giorgio Giugiaro, it was well received on its launch in ’67 and was in production until ’71, with 400 units sold. In turn, the Mangusta was followed by the Pantera – a car that gave De Tomaso a serious presence in the American market and was in production for over 20 years. Over 7,000 had been built by ’92, so De Tomaso’s progress in terms of manufacturing volume was impressive. But, more importantly from my viewpoint, all three models were charismatic beauties!

Do Look Back

Monday, March 10, 2025

De Tomaso Takes to the Road - the Vallelunga

Sunday, October 17, 2021

Fifty and Looking Good

Friday, October 1, 2021

Jo's Last Season