TFLcar.com Rare Finds goes back to the ’70s for this week’s featured vehicle, a 1973 DeTomaso Pantera for sale near our hometown of Denver, Colorado. This particular vehicle, having received suspension, engine, and braking upgrades over the standard Pantera, achieves a perfect balance between modern performance and classic looks. And its near-flawless paint, beautiful interior, and spotless engine bay certainly help to make this example one of the rarest and most unique Panteras available for sale.
Despite the car’s stunning looks and performance, Pantera production was very limited. Throughout its 1970-1975 production run in the United States, around 5500 first-generation Panteras were ever produced, though around 2000 more examples were produced in Europe throughout later years. For 1973, a mere 2047 examples were produced making our featured car extremely desirable. In addition, some of the rarest Panteras have the “pre-L” or “push-button” distinctions, signifying the luxury package and push-button door handles, respectively. Only 825 of the “pre-L” models ever rolled off of the assembly line and only 75 1971 “push-button” models were ever produced.
The Pantera was a blend of Italian styling with American engineering with sleek, European lines penned by Tom Tjaarda under the Ghia design house, famous for the design of the beautiful Maserati Bora. After a well-received debut at the 1970 New York Auto Show, the 1971 Pantera came into production sporting a 5.8-liter Ford Cleveland V8 producing a claimed 330 horsepower, though actual output was closer to 400 horsepower. Using its Maserati Bora-sourced ZF transaxle, the Pantera could rocket from 0-60 mph in around 5.5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 160 mph which were absolutely incredible numbers for the time.
With bodies produced in Italy and engines built in Detroit, there were often issues with quality control on the early Panteras. Many body panels fit improperly and rusted after exposure to water, and many interior features, notably the cigarette lighter located on the center console, were poorly placed and not ergonomic. The first Panteras to make it to US shores experienced reliability issues during testing and in everyday driving. Elvis Presley once shot his personal Pantera after it wouldn’t start. However, Ford soon smoothed out these reliability issues with a smaller-compression 5.8-liter V8 and increased attention to detail in the build quality. Early Panteras’ imperfect design and temperamental nature has made them intriguing to some enthusiasts, as owning one of these gorgeous vehicles requires compromise that makes a collection interesting.
This particular Pantera has a number of features and upgrades that make it especially desirable for collectors. With only 57,000 miles on the odometer and a service history spanning at least the last 30 years, a new owner can be sure that this Pantera has had a moderate, pampered life. In addition, the current owner is only the second owner since new, adding 15,000 miles in 30 years but adding Allwood disc brakes, a higher compression crate engine, and revised front and rear suspension. The car has been modernized for practicality all while keeping its classic Italian design fully intact.
This level of care and upgrading comes at a cost as the owner is asking a steep $63,000. However, for the muscle car fanatic looking to add a bit of foreign flair to a collection, there is no better choice than this meticulously maintained DeTomaso Pantera.
For more information about this week’s featured vehicle, please follow the link below.
http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/4466384828.html
Please enjoy this TFLcar.com video review profiling two DeTomaso Panteras.
Frank caught automotive fever early in life. Hailing from a long line of car fanatics, he was able to recite the year and model of every car that passed him by age five. His passion and love for the automobile have only grown since then. When not thinking about cars, he is reading, writing, learning, or dreaming about them. His area of expertise is in the realm of German and Italian cars, of which Porsche is a favorite. Frank currently resides in the heart of NASCAR country in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his family. He enjoys driving exotic cars in the beautiful Carolina weather.
