1967 DeTomaso Vallelunga

Motorsports was, initially, the primary endeavor of the young fledgling De Tomaso company. Founded by Alejandro de Tomaso in Modena, Italy in 1959, it produced cars for Formula Junior, Formula 3, Formula 2 and ultimately Formula 1. The company's first road-going automobile was the Vallelunga, named after the Roman motor racing circuit, which was introduced in 1963.

Alejandro de Tomaso
Alejandro de Tomaso's racing career began in Argentina in 1951. After being implicated in a plot to overthrow Argentine president Juan Perón in 1955, he fled to Italy where he drove for Maserati and Osca. In 1957, he raced for Scuderia Centro Sud, a privateer team based in Modena, in Formula One.

De Tomaso Automobili SpA
De Tomaso Automobili SpA was founded in 1959 building prototypes and racing cars, adding high-performance sports cars to its resume in 1963. The company's list of memorable sports models would include the Vallelunga, Mangusta (1966), Panter (1971) and Guara (1993). The Deauville (1971) and Longchamp (1972) were luxury models.

De Tomaso Vallelunga
The mid-engine Vallelunga sports car was produced from 1964 until 1967, with a mere 59 examples built (58 examples were coupes and 1 was a Barchetta). The Vallelunga prototypes were styled and constructed by Carrozzeria Fissore, an alloy-bodied Spider and a pair of closed Coupes having been completed in 1963-64.

Construction
The Colin Chapman-esque backbone chassis frame used the engine as a stressed member of the design. It was a fabricated sheet and tubular steel backbone and front crossmember, with tubular frame extensions added on production versions. The engine initially carried rear suspension loads to the central beam, with later examples carrying the loads via the tubular frame extensions. There were double wishbones at the front and a multi-link setup at the rear, with anti-roll bars and concentric springs and shock absorbers all round. Steering was by a Renault rack and pinion system, and stopping power was by Campagnolo Amadori discs. The front radial tires measured 145-13 and the rears at 175-13. Many of the chassis components were made from cast magnesium; the body was fiberglass.

The wheelbase measured 89.5 inches, and it had an overall length of 151.2 inches, a width of 63 inches, and a height of 42.5 inches.

Both the transmission and engine were mounted mid-ship. The fuel tank was formed from aluminum, and both it and the filler were placed in the front compartment. A radiator was also mounted at the front, with air exiting beneath the car. The plumbing to the engine ran through the backbone.

The engine was a 1,498cc Ford Kent straight-4 cylinder unit from the Cortina that was equipped with a pair of Weber 40DCOE2 carburetors and paired with a Volkswagen Beetle transaxle (a four- or five-speed manual transmission). It produced 104 horsepower at 6,200 RPM.

Accessing the engine and battery on Fissore-built Vallelungas required tilting the entire rear body section. On the Ghia-bodied examples, the rear window hinged at the front and then an upholstered panel could be lifted out.

Fissore's design chief was Franco Maina. Approximately fifteen examples were clothed by Fissore before production moved to Ghia in 1965. Styling updates at Ghia were courtesy of a young Giorgetto Giugiaro, incorporating a hint of Ferrari 250LM and Dino 206 design elements. Numerous detail differences distinguished the Fissore and Ghia bodied cars, the most obvious difference was the engine bay, with the Ghia-bodied cars having a glass hatch rather than the hinged clamshell-type rear body section of the prototypes.

The De Tomaso Vallelunga was the second production car with a mid-engine set-up - the first being the ATS. It had a complex and sophisticated chassis with Formula 3-inspired suspension.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2024