I wrote to Stefan asking whether he had made this for hire by an auto manufacturer/developer or for his personal reasons and this was his response:

"It is a shame, but the Panthera is not an official Fiat or De Tomaso design. That’s way I called Panthera with “H”. It is my own interpretation about the well known Pantera. I´m a 3D artist and designer and I create car design to show my knowing about 3D visualization but I ever interested to sell my design. If you know persons how could be interested in production, then please forward my stuff. As you as a Pantera owner thank you very much that you like the modern style.

Best Regards

Stefan"

This weeks Autoweek says Detomaso may be bought by an AMerican/Chineese consortium. Wouldn't it be great if it was made in China and sold for $10,000 just like before?????

quote:

Originally posted by DeTom:
...Wouldn't it be great if it was made in China...

NO!

quote:

...and sold for $10,000 just like before...

NO! $60K - $90K would be terrific

WOW ...now thats the ticket ... that car and 10 million to buy the factory ..would be a dream come true. That car is perfect in every way ...matter of fact it has sparked my creative thoughts on side scoops for 6476.

All we need now is a chicken farmer to get some investors to put a deal together .. factory, concept, and money ..what else do we need.

I dont want to put a negitive spin on this but with the BIG 3 going down the tubes .. not much profit in te USA making cars these days ..and ITALY with all of the UUUUUTTTMMM .. politics ..well its not such a great place to make cars either.

Ron

Would be great if were to be built in Italy, and without Chinese money. Presently the only downside I can think of..Chinese =Cheap death trap!!!

Funny you say that about the chinese ..there was a little piece of info on the AC Cobra forum ..which is mostly poeple from the UK because obviuosly AC was in the UK ..but they state that in the USA our cars only last 10 - 15 years now max .. its obviuos its not made with US steel. The Asian auto makers make them fast and cheap ... throw away society is what we have become. I say build a fine automobile like our brothers Ferrari and Lambo. There are people who will buy them. Another perspective ...I couldnt afford a Pantera new .. so it took me 30 years .. but I have a fine automobile that outlasted 10 - 15 years.

Ron

Eventually Chinese companies will have to improve the quality of their products, just as the Japanese did. Entering the global auto market will be an eye opener for Chinese companies, with all the safety & environmental reglations that are necessary to comply with in order to build a car that can be sold in any market around the world.

But that time hasn't occured yet. Until then, the world community perceives something being made in China as being made cheaply. No automaker of an up-scale car like a new Pantera wants the world to perceive their car that way.

Pricing is important too. If you price a new Pantera in the same range as a Ford Focus, the public will not perceive that as a bargain, they will perceive the new Pantera the same way the perceive the Ford Focus. No one would believe a mid engine exotic that is priced no higher than a Mustang is worth a damn.

Ron, I beleive the US automakers lack decisive, visionary leadership. Chrysler was once headed down the tubes, then Iacocca took the helm and restored Chrysler to health in a remarkably short time. However, visionary leaders like to have significant control of a company, and it may be that the entrenched bureaucracies, boards of directors, and what have you may no longer be willing to give a visionary leader the kind of control that was given Iacocca when he took the helm at Chrysler. That's my advice for any corporation in financial trouble, go out and find a strong individualistic leader, but be prepared to give this visionary all the free reign and control they need to do their job.

The board of directors at Ford have been in control of the last several CEOs, all the while the corporation has been sliding downhill. Do you think this board of directors have ever taken a look at themselves and asked "what are we doing wrong"? No, they hire another CEO and box him in just like they did the last one.

Just thought I'd toss out the 2002 De Tomaso future Pantera sketches that many of you may not have seen -

Larry

wow i love that car!

quote:

Originally posted by SoCal:
You could make it work in the US if it was done as a "kit" car, kind of like the Noble. Build a tube or a monocoque(sp) frame put it all together and sell it without an engine or drivetrain. Use Ford GT transaxles or even a corvette trans set-up. The manufacturer (seller) would then have a list of authorized drivetrain installers or you could do it yourself. This way you could bypass all the required DOT inspections.

Superformance in South Africa. http://www.superformance.com/
One of the SCPOCA members just got a GT40 from them. Build quality is incredible. They also build the Noble.