De Tomaso Pantera art

This De Tomaso Pantera art represents a rare mix of Argentinian entrepreneurial spirit, American engineering and Italian design. The story of De Tomaso is a sweet throwback to the Golden age of Italian-American joint ventures. The 80's in America are all about excess - everything is sparkling, provocative and bright.

The story behind the De Tomaso Pantera cult

The history of De Tomaso and their first model Pantera begins at the Modena auto show in 1970. A couple of weeks later the wide and potent-looking mid-engined car debutes across the pond. It stirs up the audience at the New York auto show. Soon after that, the production capacity of the tiny Italian automaker increases to about three cars per day. It is an instant success. The production span of De Tomaso Panter stretches for 23 years.

Pantera is the most successful model produced by De Tomaso with more than 7000 cars. The vehicle is powered by V8 FordCleveland engine producing 335 hp. That is enough for a sprint time of 5.5 sec to 60 mph. De Tomaso Pantera relies on a 5-speed manual transmission and a transaxle delivered by ZF. Due to the enormous torque provided by the big V8 engine, the Pantera is much less demanding in terms of gear changes in urban conditions than many other European sports cars.

Importance in the automotive world

De Tomaso Pantera is among the ultimate poster cars of the '70s, '80s, and '90s. Designed by Tom Tjaarda who then works for Ghia, the mid-engine coupe is an absolute dream even though not so alluring as the Lamborghini Miura. It doesn't need to be a supercar; it is meant to be an unconventional sports car able to understeer and oversteer in two consecutive corners. Such nasty behaviour doesn’t scare its rich and famous owners. Like Elvis Presley himself.

De Tomaso Pantera is pure automotive pornography at the time. To be honest, it still is. The Argentinian-Italian-American car appears in movies like The Cannonball Run II, the original Gone in 60 Seconds, The Gumball Rally and even Breaking Bad. You can find it in Jay Leno’s garage, which only speaks about the importance it has to the world automotive culture.

To us, it is a pleasure to have this illustration by artist Marco De Toma listed on our marketplace. Because, you know – De Tomaso Pantera is a fine car art by itself.

We are more than happy to share with you this illustration, created by Marco De Toma. Because, you know – De Tomaso Pantera is a fine car art by itself.