De Tomaso Pantera
De Tomaso

De Tomaso Pantera: The Perfect Italian Underdog

Avatar photoDjordje Sugaris

To become a legend, a car needs striking looks, matching power, and a cool name to wrap it all up, so it’s no wonder the De Tomaso Pantera is such an iconic piece of automotive history. Beyond its predatory feline name and impossibly cool Italian panache, what made the Pantera iconic was the fact that it was a fabulous sports car born and raised in the most unfavorable times for performance.

Just as the car itself, the De Tomaso Pantera story is complex, wild, and laced with questionable decisions and a dash of controversy. Still, cars with a strong backstory always have memorable characters, giving us even more reasons to adore them. So, without further ado, let’s see how the supercar was born and why it’s one of the highest cherished classic cars today.

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Djordje Sugaris
Lifelong car lover, fancy word enthusiast. Good at combining these two. I am an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience, starting from my teens. In fact, every job I ever had was about cars one way or another. In 2013, I co-founded Autoslavia, a project covering classic car heritage and car culture in Southeastern Europe. Published on Airows, Sports Car Digest, eManuals and more.
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