1971 DeTomaso Pantera Review: An Underrated Exotic Sports Car

De Tomaso Pantera: A Quirky Italian Exotic

• 🇮🇹 The 1971 De Tomaso Pantera, named after the Italian word for Panther, is a rare and striking exotic sports car from the 1970s.
• 🚗 Founded by Alejandro De Tomaso, the brand also owned Maserati and Moto Guzzi at its peak and is most known for this model.
• 🇺🇸 Early Panteras were sold in the US through Ford dealerships, with Ford even taking a financial stake in the De Tomaso brand.

Design and Engineering

• 🎨 Designed by Tom Tjaarda, the Pantera boasts a beautiful, restrained yet exciting exotic sports car aesthetic, with clean lines and well-integrated US safety bumpers.
• ⚙️ It features a mid-mounted 5.8L Ford Cleveland V8 engine producing around 320-330 horsepower, paired with a 5-speed manual transmission.
• 💡 A unique design choice is the rear-mounted engine with a forward-placed rear window to aid heat dissipation, and the fuel filler located under the rear hatch.

Interior and Quirks

• 🕹️ The interior is typical of a 70s sports car, featuring a gated 5-speed manual with a dog-leg first gear and a distinctive rectangular shifter and gates.
• 📻 The stereo head unit is mounted vertically due to space constraints, and climate controls include unique settings like "cool" and "coolest" with no warm option.
• 💡 Quirks include a front grille badge mounted unusually low, aftermarket mirrors on this specific car, and a vestigial crank window roller on the door panel despite having power windows.
• 🧳 Storage is limited, with no space behind the seats, but there is a small compartment up front and a glove box secured by a hand-tightened screw.

Driving Experience and Legacy

• 🚀 The Pantera offers a surprisingly smooth and easy driving experience, feeling light and tossable, comparable to the Ford GT of its era.
• 🔊 The Ford V8 provides good power and a satisfying sound, though it lacks the dramatic flair of contemporary Lamborghini or Ferrari V12s.
• 🏆 Despite its striking looks and thrilling performance, the Pantera is often overlooked compared to Ferrari and Lamborghini due to its De Tomaso branding, making it a unique value proposition.
• 📊 The Pantera received a DougScore of 52 out of 100, praised for being smoother, better built, and more comfortable than a Ferrari 512 BB, highlighting its underappreciated status.