ITALIAN STALLION!

THE DE TOMASO PANTERA IS THE PERFECT BLEND OF ITALIAN SASS, UNCLE-SAM GRUNT AND SIMPLICITY

- DAVE MORLEY

I freely admit to having a major Jones for cars like the De Tomaso Pantera. Like the Bizzarrini 5300GT with its Chevrolet 327 small-block or the Iso Grifo with its choice of small or big-block Chevys or even a Ford 351, the Pantera is - for blokes like me - that perfect blend of Italian sass and Uncle-Sam grunt and simplicity.

Imagine a supermodel who has her own fishing boat and can TIG weld. Perfection, really.

Not that I can't appreciate a traditional Italian supercar, what with all those camshafts, multiple carburettors and a soundtrack that raises neck hairs. But if I was ever in the position to own such a thing, I reckon I'd be constantly looking over my shoulder literally and metaphorically - waiting for that collection of valves, chains, tensioners and sprockets to take a dump and make loud exploding noises. Followed by the 'whump' of my wallet bursting into flames.

But an Italian supercar with a factory-fitted American V8? Suddenly, I'm sleeping a lot better at night. And while purists might gasp at the thought of using a non-standard wiper blades on their Ferrari or Lamborghini, nobody's going to beat me up at a cars and coffee for tuning the absolute agates off a Chevy small-block.

And, clearly, enough car-makers over the years have agreed with that sentiment, and one of the better-known ones was Alejandro De Tomaso.

De Tomaso handed the design of the Pantera (the replacement for the Mangusta) to Ghia, and legendary stylist Tom Tjaarda (who designed everything from the Ferrari 365 California to the 1974 Ford Maverick) broke out the crayons to sketch up the muscular, big-haunch coupe, leaving onlookers in absolutely zero confusion over where the engine was located.

Dallara then stepped in to carry out the mechanical layout design and hit all the right buttons with double wishbone suspension at each end, four-wheel disc brakes, rack-and-pinion steering and - a first for the De Tomaso branda monocoque bodyshell.