It’s a mighty good-looking car, this issue’s 1971 De Tomaso Pantera. It’s Italian, of course (“pantera” is Italian for “panther”), designed by the company Carrozzeria Ghia.
The De Tomaso company is just more than 60 years old and was founded by the Argentine race car driver Alejandro De Tomaso. His goal was to produce precisely engineered high-performance sports cars housed in beautifully styled Italian bodies. Prior to starting his own company, he was a test driver for OSCO, an Italian manufacturer of race and sports cars.
The Pantera is a mid-engine sports car manufactured from 1971 to 1992. It was their most popular model, but only a bit more than 7,000 were sold in 21 years, about 75% of which by Lincoln-Mercury dealers from 1972 to 1975. The car uses a Ford 351-cubic-inch Cleveland V8 engine rated at 325 horsepower.
There were some quality issues with the early Pantera cars involving inadequate rust proofing, fit and finish, and the use of a lot of body solder to hide body flaws. So Ford got involved with the production, and the quality improved.
My limited experience and knowledge have shown that when two different automobile manufacturers from different countries try to get together to build a special car, there is no shortage of problems. The management styles conflict, there’s overlapping authority issues, company jealousy and language problems, usually resulting in delays and sometimes missing the target market completely by the time the vehicle is produced.
Apparently, some of that was the case with De Tomaso and Ford, as Ford stopped importing the Pantera to America in 1975 and now both companies seem to be doing fine. What is it that sells cars? Price, certainly, but is it features? Comfort? Performance? Size? Style?
I suspect that several of those factors weigh in on buying decisions for many of us but not all of us. For Livermore resident Ken Levin, style was his only reason for buying this edition’s 1971 De Tomaso Pantera. He had never driven or even sat in one. He just saw it and wanted it.
Evidently, that was a satisfactory decision for Levin, as he bought this very unusual car in November 1972 as its second owner and still has it.
“I bought it from the Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Burlingame,” Levin says. “When I was growing up, my parents and I would go to the International Auto Show in San Francisco. I remember there was a huge double door that was open, and right in front of me as we walked in was a yellow Pantera on a pedestal.
“It was love at first sight. But I wasn’t in to anything exotic, I was always pro-American, but when I saw it had a Ford engine, I thought, ‘That’s my dream — Italian styling but American horsepower.’ The price was not out of line; they retailed for $9,995 (about $73,400 in 2023 dollars). I didn’t have that kind of money, as I had just graduated, from college but thought I would love to own one of those someday.”
Months passed, and Levin was working and saving money when the Pantera bug bit again. He started looking at Panteras and went to the dealership. They had one on the showroom floor, but the sales associate apparently didn’t think Levin was a good prospect because he was young and dressed like a college kid.
However, a future appointment was made. The sales associate was a no-show, and Levin found out the dealership had just taken in a used Pantera. Their asking price was almost the price of a new one, so Levin left, but the Pantera bug didn’t.
“On a Sunday night several days later, I return to the dealership. Doors are open, all the lights are on, but there’s no one there. I phoned the salesman who said he forgot to lock up and would be there shortly. While waiting, I notice a box of 3-by-5 cards listing all the used cars and the dealership’s cost.”
That proved very helpful in his successful negotiation for this used 1971 Pantera at at the price of $8,050 (about $59,130 today). I asked Levin for and got a ride in this fire-engine-red sports car. It’s so low that it is almost like sitting on the ground.
We zipped by some 18-wheelers on the freeway, and the top of their tires was above my eye level. Levin demonstrated its cornering ability, and I wondered if I had paid the premium on my accidental death policy.
The car now has 82,000 miles, and the owner has not had excessive expenses since its purchase. The engine has been rebuilt twice, and the car was repainted 26 years ago but looks like it was repainted yesterday.
Levin has no plans to sell, but if he did, the current average market price of a 1971 Pantera is $124,642. It was a pretty good investment decision.
Have an interesting vehicle? Email Dave at MOBopoly@yahoo.com. To read more of his columns or see more photos of this and other issues’ vehicles, visit mercurynews.com/author/david-krumboltz.