Reply to "2011 DeTomaso Automobili Pantera"

Its an obvious fact of life, the higher they price the car, the fewer people around here could ever afford it. Its a bit disappointing the $150,000 question was even asked. Makes me wonder if anyone is even listening. Or do they only hear what they want to hear. Will it be Ford powered? Most people here have blood that runs Ford blue. With few exceptions these Pantera folks are not Italian car dilettantes. They are good old American muscle enthusiasts. They are Mustang guys who didn't want a "me too" Mustang, they wanted something a little different, something that performed a little better, they wanted to stand out from the crowd because they are individualists who march to their own drum. The dual persona of the original Pantera, the throbbing Ford V8 wrapped in Italian coachwork is what appeals to these guys.

Here's where the North American competition is at:

The Chevrolet Z06 is currently $74,000 USD. $150,000 is twice the price of a Z06 'Vette. The Z06 weighs 3175 pounds, 300 pounds lighter than a Ford GT. The Z06 has 6.28 pounds per horsepower, the Ford GT has 6.33 pounds per horsepower. 0 to 60 comes up in the Z06 in about 3.5 seconds, 60 to 0 happens in only 104 feet, lateral acceleration is 1.05 G and it will do the standing quarter mile in 11.5 seconds. Most of these specs are identical to the specs of the Ford GT except the braking spec, which is better, no doubt owing to the fact the Z06 is 300 pounds lighter.

DeTomaso, keep your new sports car light, imagine a KTM X-Bow chassis & drive train wrapped up in Italian coachwork penned by Tom Tjaarda, give it enough of Ford V8 power to achieve 6 pounds per horsepower (about 330 BHP). Imagine Z06/Ford GT performance in a car weighing perhaps 2000 pounds. Be bold, be imaginative, don't follow the crowd. The Pantera wasn't the first mid-engine sports car, but they weren't very common in 1971. A vehicle like the X-Bow wouldn't be new, but such vehicles aren't very common at this moment in time. The trend is towards smaller, lighter, greener, less expensive cars. There are already articles in the media declaring expensive, exotic, Super Cars as a thing of the past.

-G