In 2018, Top Gear Taiwan published, in their Cool Cars series, an article on supposedly the only Pantera in that country. It is #9513, and was "Bianco" white from the factory. The factory sold the car directly to Taiwan, where it has been ever since.
https://www.topgeartw.com/?p=11945
The Google Translation (with the usual hilarious results) is as follows:
Words：Jason YEH Pictures：Peter WANG
I need a pair of sunglasses because people’s eyes make me uncomfortable. The energy is like an Ark reactor and cannot be ignored.
Modena, Italy is a paradise for realizing supercar dreams. From Ferrari and Maserati to Lamborghini and De Tomaso, they all started their supercar careers here in the 1950s and 1960s. Although some people succeeded, many failed, but they They all had the courage to pursue and realize their dreams, and in an era when aerodynamics had not yet been widely used in supercar design, designers could give full play to their ideas and sculpt an exquisite figure like a work of art. Almost every car could It can be driven directly into the living room without any sense of inconsistency. Among them, of course, the Pantera GT5-S is included. There is absolutely no doubt that it ranks among the cool car heroes.
TG took the high-speed train from Taipei to Kaohsiung as promised. From a distance, those big wings immediately caught my attention. Here they are! arrive! The taxi driver who was a little too aggressive made me slightly unhappy. It was not that he deliberately took a detour or had poor driving skills, but that I was eager to get out of the car. The delicate and sexy appearance of the Pantera GT5-S immediately made us smell the fragrance of nectar. The bees just want to fly to their side as soon as possible.
As far as we know, it should be the only Pantera in China. The current owner of this car is Brother Hao, a senior driver with experience in international cross-country races and Dhaka events. When TG contacted him, he hoped to temporarily borrow this treasure. , and immediately agreed readily. Even on the day of the test drive, he was unable to accompany him due to other important matters, but he still let TG drive the car away without saying anything. The hands holding the steering wheel were like holding the treasure of the Forbidden City - Mao Gong's tripod, as if a Wouldn't it be a mistake to become a sinner through the ages? Isn't it important? I'm so nervous!
As the throttle deepens, it lets out a laugh of oh, ha, ha, ha.
Depress the clutch and shift into first gear. At this moment, there is a slight metal knocking sound. I have a bad feeling. Usually first gear is smooth. Why is this car like this? I lowered my head and saw that I had actually shifted into reverse gear. It turned out that this car was equipped with a "dog-leg" gearbox. Those who know it will know what I am talking about at a glance. Friends who are not familiar with it may be confused. To put it simply, it is Everyone is accustomed to the fact that the R reverse gear is placed in the 1st gear position, and the 2nd gear position is the real 1st gear, and so on from 2nd to 5th gear. As for where does the dog-leg style come from? This word is a direct English-Chinese translation of a foreign language. I believe it originated from Western hieroglyphs. Phew, I’m tired after spending a cup of tea explaining this.
After shifting into the real first gear, everything obviously feels smooth. Although this 5.8-liter V8 engine comes from the old Mustang, its torque is as strong as Dwayne Johnson's muscles. It slips forward as soon as the clutch is released, and the exhaust Although it still maintains the original parts, the purr and purr originally expected from the American V8 muscle engine have become quite subtle. Coupled with the soft sofa-type seats, to be honest, this car is much more comfortable to drive than expected, just like Yi The aggressive style of the Italian supercars is a little out of touch. The only thing they have in common is the steering wheel. It is still a purely mechanical structure without power assistance. Although it can be used to exercise biceps, I am sure that I will have to take leave after the deadline to find a masseur for a massage.
Although there are many cars on the road, the roads in Kaohsiung are relatively spacious. In addition, the car has been carefully adjusted by Brother Hao to be extremely complete. There is no weird temper that needs to be adapted. I have already started to use it in less than three minutes. As the throttle is deepened, this car The beautiful witch seemed to let out a laugh of oh, ha, ha, ha, and walked quickly. The cool air rolling in the cabin made my hair fly a little, and my heart began to throb, but the reason came from the brakes, maybe it The brakes of the car were considered powerful back then, but you must not judge it by today's standards. You still need to maintain rationality to drive this car. Being too impulsive is not a good thing, especially when you think of its other identity as Mao Gongding in the car industry. At this time My blood pressure instantly increased by 20mmHg.
This thing should only exist in heaven...
You can tell which era this car belongs to from the design of the rearview mirror and rear window. Many European mass-produced cars from the 1970s to 1980s were only equipped with a single rearview mirror (driver's seat) and a rearview mirror on the other side. It is a paid option. This is not because the car manufacturer is crazy about trying to grab money, but because of the traffic environment at the time. Although this 1985 Pantera GT5-S is a later product, it is like it was directly taken from a little sheep. (Scooter) pull-out rearview mirror, and it is 100% manual. In addition, supercars usually don’t worry about the rear view, so it is difficult to deal with the little sheep special attack teams that may appear from both sides at any time. Every time we turned an intersection or changed lanes, Peter (the photographer) and I kept our eyes wide open, constantly trying to break through the 170-degree limit of sight.
We arrived at the photo location safely, with few cars and good lighting. We could finally relax and take a good look at this sexy beauty. Her bright white body and perfect proportions seemed to turn her purity into dust if she looked at it even more. The flip-up headlights and the flying headlights from outside that day The wings, the wide rims with small diameter and the protruding muscle-like rear fenders, coupled with the wide and flat body, at this time, the mood suddenly became a poem: This thing should only be found in the sky, and how many can be found in the world. Looking back, I borrowed this joke to describe my current state of mind.
Before mentioning the story of this Pantera GT5-S, I still have to talk about the De Tomaso brand and its founder Alejandro de Tomaso, because I heard from Brother Hao that many people mistakenly think it is a Toyota when they see the T on the front of the car. De Tomaso, who was actually born in Argentina, went to Italy to start a new business because of his love for racing. He even became an F1 driver from 1957 to 1959. However, due to insufficient performance, he switched to the racing manufacturing industry in 1959 and launched the first car in 1963. The first mass-produced Vallelunga, and the Pantera launched in 1971 to replace the Mangusta.
Pantera means Panther in Italian. The shape was designed by American designer Tom Tjaarda. It was highly praised in the North American market as soon as it was launched. Even Elvis Presley bought one. The cage-shaped tubular frame is equipped with fiberglass. The lightweight body of the car was powered by Ford's 5.8-liter V8 engine. The Italian-style appearance and chassis were combined with the American muscle heart. This mix and match suited Uncle Sam's appetite, and then it was popular from the United States back to the European market. From 1971 to 1992 The total production in the year reached 7260 units, and the 1985 Pantera GT5-S was a late model with only 187 units produced. It was characterized by continuing the wide body concept of the GT5, but the addition of an S was not what everyone thought of as Sport. It is Steel, which means that its one-piece wide fender is made of steel plate stamping technology instead of the fiberglass of GT5. A forward-extending deflector is also added under the front of the car. Combined with the triangular wing at the rear, it has the style of a lightning bolt car. Beautifully formed.
The fateful meeting between Bole and Liangju
If I could go back 30 years to choose the car color and interior configuration, this Pantera GT5-S would still look like it does today. The white paint and leather color make it still gorgeous today, especially the pure white one. The leather seats and center console were definitely very bold choices at the time. Although it took a lot of effort to take care of them, the results were definitely worth the price. It also fully echoed the Pantera GT5-S’s status as a top-tier supercar at the time. Noble figure, good design can indeed not be affected by time, and even become eternal.
But for a rare classic car, a thousand-mile horse still needs to be appreciated by Bole before it can become a good horse. In fact, I have heard the story of this car a long time ago. It is said that a friend from central and southern China bought this car in Japan. And brought it to China, but due to the lack of driving and the acclimatization and poor body structure, it stayed in the garage for ten years. A few years ago, another friend bought this car by chance. Although he was interested, Mei was getting older after all. The witch was indeed difficult to take care of, so Brother Hao took over, and this was the reason why this opportunity came about.
Because this cool car hero list has allowed TG to come into contact with many classics that we have never thought of in the past. We found that these cars all have one thing in common, which is irreplaceable originality and unique styling. Even car manufacturers in the past dared to do so. With the courage to innovate, designers can fully implement their inner thoughts and create unique products, such as Isetta, Esprit and Pantera. Unlike today's new cars that have too much baggage, perhaps because of this, there has been a wave of innovation around the world in recent years. There is a craze for old cars because everyone thinks that the cars of the past are much more attractive than the new cars of today.
An old couple passed by on a motorcycle. When they saw the car, they gave us a thumbs up sign. From their dress and shy expression, it could be seen that they live a regular life. I believe it was because of the Pantera GT5-S that they asked them to do it. This gesture is something that he would never do normally. This gesture alone is enough to show that Pantera GT5-S is cool enough, and extremely cool.
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An old couple passed by on a
