And there is more than a hint of glamour in the origins of this gorgeous car. Alejandro de Tomaso was an Italy-based Argentine racing driver who started producing sports cars under his own name in the 1960s. So the De Tomaso Pantera was not just Italian and American, but courtesy of the owner’s nationality also had an additional streak of South American sultriness.

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After being implicated in 1955 in a plot to overthrow Juan Peron, the Argentine president, De Tomaso fled to Italy, from where his paternal grandfather had emigrated. Settling in Modena in Turin, he married Isabelle Haskell, a wealthy and socially connected American heiress, herself a racing-driver. With Isabelle he founded the De Tomaso motor-car company; it produced not only single-seater racing cars but also exotic sports models as well as a pair of performance saloons: the Longchamp and the Deauville were in production in the 1970s at the same time as the De Tomaso Pantera, both the saloons named after French racecourses, a further interest of the former Isabelle Haskell.

A total of 1,007 cars reached the United States that year. Subsequently, Ford increased their involvement in the production of the later cars with the introduction of precision stampings for body panels which resulted in improved overall quality.

Several modifications were made to the Pantera for the 1972 model year. A new 5.8 L (351 cu in) four-bolt main Cleveland engine was used with lower compression ratio (from 11:1 to 8.6:1, chiefly to meet US emissions standards and run on lower octane standard fuel) but with the more aggressive ‘Cobra Jet’ camshaft (featuring the same lift and duration as the 428 Cobra Jet’s factory performance cam) in an effort to reclaim some of the power lost through the reduction in compression ratio along with a dual point distributor.

This iconic Italian-American sports car boasts a striking design that seamlessly blends Italian styling with American muscle, making it a rare and coveted gem in the world of classic automobiles.

The Veglia instrumentation provides a classic touch, while the power windows offer convenience at your fingertips. The pop-up headlights add a touch of retro charm, and the quad exhaust tips hint at the performance capabilities of this legendary machine.

This particular example has been in the possession of the same owner for over 20 years. This long-term ownership speaks to the love and attention that has been lavished on this vehicle, making it a rare find for discerning collectors and enthusiasts alike. In summary, this De Tomaso Pantera represents a unique opportunity to own a piece of automotive history that continues to captivate enthusiasts and collectors alike and is mechanically sound.

Tom Tjaarda, who had been born Stevens Thompson Traarda Van Starkenburg, was the designer behind the Carrozzeria Vignale visual concept of the De Tomaso Pantera. Although he lived in Turin in Italy, and almost all his career was conducted from there, he was actually an American citizen who had been born in Detroit. His father was John Tjaarda, who had designed the 1935 Lincoln Zephyr.

As an automobile designer, Tjaarda worked on over eighty separate cars: these included the Pantera, the Ferrari 365 California, and the Aston Martin Lagonda Coupe, as well as 1972’s Ford Fiesta and the Fiat 124 Spider in 1966.

Car Design News called Tjaarda ‘one of the great unsung heroes of the car design world.’

The Pantera was De Tomaso’s most popular model, with over 7,000 manufactured over its twenty-year production run. More than three quarters of the production was sold by American Lincoln-Mercury dealers from 1972 to 1975; after this agreement ended De Tomaso kept manufacturing the car in ever smaller numbers into the early 1990s.

-Alex Manos, Owner