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Description:
1973 DeTomaso Pantera Superforte
One of the boldest moves ever made by the Ford Motor Company was to join forces with Italian automaker DeTomaso Automobili in Modena to create, in the image of the famous DeTomaso Mangusta, one of the most beautiful American sports cars ever produced. Though this marque was not made in great numbers, about 5500 of them were sold by Lincoln Mercury dealers between 1971 and 1974. By 1973 the muscle car era was over, so there were few choices in the US car market for real car enthusiasts. The mid engine Pantera gained a huge following among US motorheads who, then as now, appreciate high performance in a stylish package. Today this special sports car is as desirable as they were new, due to the timeless, muscular styling and one of the best power plants to ever bear a Blue Oval wrapper - the ominous 351 Cleveland V8. The 5.7 liter engine featured deep-breathing heads patterned after the very successful Boss 302 design, and the Pantera came stock with 4-barrel carburetion and 4-bolt main bearing caps. This snappy V-8, conservatively rated at 262 horsepower, was mated to a ZF fully synchronized 5-speed, limited slip, transaxle borrowed from the Ford GT40. Without any modifications, it could achieve 150 mph and would smoke the tires up to 60 mph in less than 6 seconds. That was then ___ see what we got for ya now___
Some guys just have to take a good idea and make it a whole lot better. The wonderful 1973 DeTomaso Pantera coupe we are offering for sale is the product of a well known and very respected gearhead who has worked on his pet project for about a decade. His efforts have produced, not only very recognizable car in the Island State of Hawaii, but also one that is the envy of many DeTomaso owners around the world. This incredibly meticulous restoration features a custom interior with a native koa wood dash full of custom designed Stewart Warner gauges, and supple, pillow soft pikake white Connolly leather. This Pantera is a very cool cat with a HOT HOT HOT version of the Cleveland mill that has Pele spewing volcanic lava in envy. Below the hatch of this DeTomaso dream car a race prepared engine topped by a four pack of Weber carbs, equipped with a Crane roller cam, and huge valves that will push the tach easily to 11,000 rpm, delivers a pulsating 500 ponies to the ground on gasoline. Designed and built to run on pure ethanol, fermented sugar cane juice ups the horsepower by almost 60%. A specially constructed McLeod clutch assembly ensures a positive lockup and heavy duty axles take the torque to turn the huge rear meats. It would be hard to resist scorching the pavement in this ride, and you can bet your quarter mile time would be under 12 seconds without the ethanol helper.
So, here___s the scoops. If you want to own a one of a kind version of a limited production supercar ___ a model that will always have a premier spot in the automotive hall of fame, it is gonna cost more than your average Pantera, but the really good stuff is never cheap. Contact us about this ride. It___s da Bomb!
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