1991 DeTomaso Pantera

The De Tomaso Pantera was introduced in 1970 and was a collaboration between the Ford Motor Company and De Tomaso of Modena, Italy. It wore Tom Tjaarda styling and was equipped with a mid-mounted Ford 351 engine. Although Ford withdrew from the project in 1974, De Tomaso continued to produce the cars for the European market. The GT5 version was introduced in 1980 and came with an improved chassis, changes to the bodywork, and a more luxurious interior. In 1984, De Tomaso introduced the GT5-S model. A completely re-engineered Pantera version was introduced in 1990, known as the Pantera 90 Si, which came with updated Marcello Gandini styling.

The De Tomaso Pantera 90 Si had a new tube-frame chassis, reworked suspension, and a fuel-injected overhead-valve Ford 308 engine with electronic fuel injection delivering 305 horsepower at 5,000 RPM. The engine was backed by a five-speed ZF manual transmission with a limited-slip differential, four-wheel Brembo ventilated disc brakes, and an independent suspension with Adjustable Coil-Over Shock Absorbers. Nearly all of the Si models were fitted with the ZF transaxle, 17-inch alloy wheels, and ventilated Brembo disc brakes.

The interior of the De Tomaso Pantera 90 Si had bucket seats, air-conditioning, electric windows, a wood dash, and leather trim. During the three-year production lifespan, De Tomaso produced 41 examples with 38 being sold to the public. Two examples were used for crash testing and one was retained for the De Tomaso museum.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2020