Guara owners?

I think there are only three (3.0) in the U.S. and at least one is a race-only car with a plexiglas windshield, but I'll store your contact info. Thanks- J Deryke

I am not that familiar with the Guara, but didn't it become the new age Mangusta under the ownership of the Qvale brothers of San Francisco? Wouldnt the parts be interchangeable? I can put you in touch with the Qvale's if you are interested. They own San Francisco British Motors and purchased Detomaso assets several years ago. I see one of them driving a new age Mangusta from time to time and it looks like a Guara to me.

The Guara and the Qvale Mangusta are similar, but as far as I am aware, completely different cars. While the Guara is powered by either (early cars) a BMW V8 and later the Ford 4.6 V8, all Qvale cars are 4.6 powered. The Qvale was based on the DeTomaso Biguà show car but isn't really a DeTomaso car. It is far more common/less valuable/uglier than a Guara. Oh, and the Guara has the engine in the right place.

The Guara is the top car and the Qvale is below.

Mark

Completely different vehicles, the only shared DNA with my Guara (asides from the BMW V8) is a Maserati Barchetta and that’s it, unique parts in pretty much every respect which makes it a bit of an issue at times such as the cracked windscreen.

The boot release came of a Fiat X19 mind you!

As an aside Auto Italia did a road test using my Guara, a Pantera GTS and a Mangusta to show the evolution of the breed over the years which read pretty well. It is worth getting a copy of if you are into the marque which I’m guessing you probably are given the nature of this forum!

quote:

Originally posted by Vario-Rob:
Realistically I’m not expecting much here, let’s face it the Guara wasn’t a huge sales success but making contact with any other owners might just be collectively beneficial.

As posted elsewhere I’ve found a company that can remanufacture windscreen and it goes without saying that with parts availability as it is this might just be pretty useful.

The tooling costs are about £2000 as a one of fee and this would give me /us the sole rights to this pattern, evidently the actual windscreens would costs about £500 - £600 each, even if there were only two of us this would be a major saving on what I’ve quoted

My own car could be sent to the company in question Urglas in Birmingham, (GB) for a pattern o be taken.
Anyway even if this doesn’t appeal feel free to say hello, I’ve only ever spoken to one other Guara owner (Roland) but I know there are a few more you about than that.

Yours

Rob

Ben has some good info here on his website http://www.qv500.com/indexdetomaso.php

Mike

Rob,

Is it your Guara that I have seen listed on PH Classifieds? It looks a great example and a fitting color for the lines of the car.

If I thought for one minute I could get it into the US I'd seriously consider it, I have always been rather taken with the Guara and with so few made (something like 38?) it has gotta be a future classic.

Julian

quote:

Originally posted by Bosswrench:
I think there are only three (3.0) in the U.S. and at least one is a race-only car with a plexiglas windshield, but I'll store your contact info. Thanks- J Deryke

There may be even less if the Feds find them and keep seizing cars.

http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/...5562/m/449108373/p/1

Thanks for that, very familiar with Ben’s website, I understand from the last DTDC magazine that it will soon be expanded somewhat with a raft of new content which sounds like very good news for all us DeeTeeists!

His F2 car was at the last DTDC meeting at Goodwood and I have to tell it’s beyond jaw dropping and given the company it was in that day is quite an achievement.

The Guara has nominally been for sale with DK Engineering (charming bunch) for a while as I’ve had my eyes on a Pantera Si and if somebody wanted to advantage of a 10 parts screwed British economy the exchange rates are rather favourable, what would be the problem getting it into the USA?

There are around 35 although I know two have been written off and to all intents and purposes it already is a classic?

Still it’s been a cracking car to own and is genuinely a very good car aside from the truly punishing amount of transfer gear and overall gearbox noise. When it goes down to Le Mans we use headphones as it has given me tinnitus in the past, I jest not.

That is a VERY nice car!!! Envious to say the least!!

quote:

what would be the problem getting it into the USA?

EPA rules and bumper laws make importing anything into the US a royal pain.
See this post on a exotic that was siezed by the government.
http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/...50045562/m/449108373
May we see more pics of your Guara??
Beautiful car!
Jeff

Charlie Falcone and his Guara. Street Legal here in CA. I believe it is also FOR SALE passively... Pictured is Charlie (L) and George (R) at the last PI Holiday Party in 2007.

Charlie, chime in?

Dave

As someone mentioned, there are TWO varients- the Euro-Guara had a BMW V-8 while the one sort-of intended for the U.S (it never happened) had a 4-cam 4.6 Mustang engine. You can tell them apart on the road by the outrageous gear-whine from the BMW varient; apparently to change engine height, there's a pair of straight-cut transfer gears between the Bimmer flywheel and tranny that absolutely screams at any speeds above walking. Think 'gear-driven cam' in a 351-C Pantera with the insulating firewall bubble removed, or a Halibrand quick-change in a '27 T-roadster. Good ear plugs should be included in the price. They apparently handle well, though.

Jack,

AS far as I undestand it was not a Euro vs. US engine choice. Guara's made from '92 to '98 had BMW engines mated to Getrag transaxles and those '98 to '04 had Ford engines with ZF transaxles. Despite the 12 year span we are talking handfuls of each version.

The later cars gained 200 kg more from the change, but it is said the Ford enigines were 1/3 the cost of BMW's and we all know what Alejandro would choose where cost was concerned...

Julian

The stories I have heard is that there only two Guara in the US:

1st Guara in CA: The yellow Guara came into the US with no drive-train. It was reg. as a kit car and the drive-train was install. So on paper its not a Guara.

2nd Guara in NJ: This (blue now red) Guara came into ths US as a complete Guara drive-train and all. It was a driving car with all papers saying its a Guara but it could never be driven on the street. So the car was made into a full race-car.

Isnt there a 20 year rule ... so the 92's in 2 years are legal ?

My 1979 Pantera was shipped from Italy in 1985 as a collector car .. never to be registered .. it had dealer plates its entire life until I purchased it in 2006 ... and registered it for the first time in the USA.

Ron

quote:

Isnt there a 20 year rule ... so the 92's in 2 years are legal ?

I belive that's a 25 year rule.....so 7 yrs to go

Julian

I just did the math, and if I am correct just looking at model years and not the year of delivery, my car will be 43 years young in 7 more!

Here's to all of us still having these rides in 7 years and beyond!

Mark

Here are one or two more pics of her, this one was taken at Le Mans about 18 months ago iirc, the stickers are there to hide some pretty rubbish paint work. Once upon a time the car got stuck on Chelsea Bridge (London) in the 6’6” width restriction and let’s just say it didn’t exactly do wonders for the bodywork.



As has been previously the Guara is an enormously raucous car to drive but they really do handle and to date I haven’t actually managed to unstick her, that said with parts availability as it is I always prefer the slightly cautious approach.

Performance wise it’s a tough one, I did an event called VMax here in GB which is run on the main runway of an old RAF base and essentially you roll into the first beacon and then it’s flat out to 1 ½. Miles and then it’s on the anchors again. By and large this should see a car pretty close to its maximum, the trouble with the Guara is its still got its old BMW electrics and I suspect it thought it was flat at 155 when in reality she stopped at a rather tardy 144 MPH. Be assured that with the amount of front end lift and cacophony in the cabin 144 felt a damn sit faster than the 186 I saw in my Alpina B5, records stand at 211 for a RUF Porsche and a modified Viper I think.



A real bonus with fuel at £1.10 per litre these days is she does 25 mpg on a run, compared to my Windsor powered Longchamp that does about 8 mpg with the wind behind and going downhill it does hell somewhat but there again lot of you guys don’t suffer quite the same but it would seem I couldn’t bring them to the US even if I wanted to

The owner of the NJ Guara told me he spent $25K to repair body damage on the car advertised as a 'driver'. Too bad no one trustworthy was able to inspect the thing before shipment from Europe. Makes me wonder if this was DeTomaso's prototype that was famously rolled by a U.S executive apparently showing off.... in front of Modena's premier cat-house in broad daylight.