With all the exotic automakers that have come and gone over the years, it’d be all too easy to forget about De Tomaso. But not everyone has. In fact there was a concerted effort to revive the marque just a few years ago.
That project never came to pass. Which is probably just as well, because it centered around a crossover, not a sports car. And we’d just as soon forget all about it and admire instead this delectable Pantera GT5.
The Pantera was the original De Tomaso’s most successful model, with an estimated 7,260 made. It blended the best Italian design of its era with American muscle, shoehorning in a Ford V8 (initially a 351, later a 302) into the middle of a sleek and exotic form to stand up against the best that Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini had to offer.
Of those 7,260 Panteras, fewer than 300 (some estimate as few as 250) were produced in GT5 trim. More extreme and outlandish than the GTS that came before, the GT5 featured flared fenders, more radical aero, and an altogether more badass look.
Despite the go-faster body kit, though, the GT5 was all luxed out inside. This particular model that’s coming up for auction, for example, has an interior all swathed in black and burgundy leather, with a lustrous wood dashboard.
Consigned to Auctions America for its upcoming sale in Fort Lauderdale, this 1984 model was recently treated to $85,000 in restoration. It’s anticipated to fetch about $200,000 (give or take $25k) when the gavel drops at the end of this month, but you can scope it out now in the gallery below captured by Darin Schnabel for Auctions America.
Photo Gallery
