1995 DeTomaso Guara

Alejandro De Tomaso began his racing career in 1951, later moving to Italy to drive for Maserati and OSCA. He competed in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix but did not score any championship points. His wife was Isabelle Haskell, an American heiress, which gave him the financial fortitude to found his own Italian sports car company, dubbed De Tomaso Automobili, in 1959. The company's first road-going production model was the Vallelunga introduced in 1963. It was followed in 1966 by the Mangusta, and then the Pantera in 1971. The latter proved to be very popular, with over 6,100 examples produced between 1971 and 1973. The oil crisis of 1973 was a primary factor that brought an end to supercar production, and the DeTomaso was one of the victims. Ford withdrew its support, and DeTomaso was left without an engine supplier. Production of the DeTomaso continued during the 1970s and 1980s, but production was greatly reduced to fewer than 100 cars annually. Production of the DeToamso officially ended in 1993, bowing to the new carbon-fiber-bodied Guara.

DeTomaso Guara
The De Tomaso Guarà sports car would be the final project that Alejandro de Tomaso would market. First shown in 1993 at the Geneva Motor Show, the Guarà was initially available in coupé body style. A roadster and open-top barchetta body style became available later in production. Production ended in 2004 when the company entered liquidation. A final car had been built, but delivery was paused until 2011, the year that De Tomaso's liquidation was completed. Although total production figures are not known, it is believed that a total of fifty-two examples were built. Four examples were Spyders, 38 were coupes, and ten were open-top Barchettas.

An Italian designer named Carlo Gaino of Synthesis Design was tasked with penning the vehicle's design. It was given rear mid-engine configuration and was based on the Maserati Barchetta Stradale prototype from 1991. When Fiat took-over Maserati, the Barchetta Stradale project was scrapped. deTomaso took over production and named it the Guara.

Interior
The luxurious bucket seats were upholstered in leather, and an optional six-point racing harness could be installed. The pedals and steering wheel could be manually adjusted to fit the owner's preferred driving position. There was no power steering and no luggage space.

Specifications
The DeTomaso Guara rested on a 102.8-inch wheelbase platform and had an overall length of 165 inches. It had a width of 79.9 inches, and the coupes stood 47.2 inches tall, while the Barchettas had a height of 40.7 inches. The chassis was made from aluminum and the body shell was formed from Fiberglass and Kevlar.

The suspension used upper and lower wishbones with pushrods and rose-joints, and the wheels were manufactured by Marchesini.

From 1993 to 1998, the Guara was equipped with a BMW M60B40 V8 engine with a 4.0-liter displacement size. Depending on the state of tune, the engine offered between 282 to 300 horsepower. When BMW phased out the engine, deTomaso turned to Ford. They were given a 4.6-liter supercharged V8 with a cast iron block and 316 horsepower. The transmission paired to both of these engines was a six-speed manual from Getrag. The brakes were from Brembo with non-servo assist.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2024