Reply to "Pantera #9103 - GT5? Advice sought"

Bruce:

I will be curious to read your review of this car, now that you have seen it.

The owner describes the car as follows: "Series II C4 bodied Detomaso Pantera ... built on December 28 1978"

It is not advertised as a GT5, and I doubt very much it would be one if it was built in 1978. At best, it would have been converted to one by the factory - but why would it have aftermarket Gr4 flares? Much more likely, it is a GTS that had a GT5 air dam and Gr4 flares put on it by the owner.

The earliest GT5 I have on record is #9107, which is a 1980 belonging to Wally Baldyga in West Suffield, Connecticut, USA. In general, my records for this period are very thin (I have only found 15 cars built from 1978-1979), so if anyone knows of any Panteras built between 1977 and 1980 - please let me know.

The interior is irrelevant to the determination of whether it was a GTS or a GT5 because both were equipped the same. My guess is that the door panels are an owner modification, but then I have seen some atypical interiors that purportedly came from the factory.

I would also guess this is a US spec car because it has guages in English, square marker lights, and the DOT bumpers. Also "USA" is stamped on the certification plate.

I have never heard of a "Series II C4 bodied ... Pantera" before, and wonder if anyone else here on the PIBB can tell us if this is a designation actually used by the factory. My first reaction is to reject the possibility, but then I was recently humbled when I found out that DeTomaso actually offered Gr3 packages on 9000 series cars - not something I would have previously given any credibility to.

- Peter