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19/08/2018 7:55 am
EDENVALE Gathering of the Classics, Ontario, August 11.
1972 DeTomaso Pantera
Another fantastic vehicle at the Gathering of the Classics at Edenvale on August 11 was this 1972 DeTomaso Pantera.
The De Tomaso Pantera is a mid-engined sports car produced by the De Tomaso car company of Italyfrom 1971 to 1993.
The car was designed by the Italian design firm Ghia's American-born designer Tom Tjaarda and replaced the De Tomaso Mangusta.
Unlike the Mangusta, which employed a steel backbone chassis, the Pantera was a steel Monocoque design, the first instance of De Tomaso using this construction technique.
The 1972 Panteras were powered by a Cleveland Ford 351 cu in (5.8 L) V8 engine producing a 330 hp (246 kW; 335 PS). The high torque provided by the Ford engine reduced the need for excessive gear changing at low speeds: this made the car much less demanding to drive in urban conditions than many of the locally built competitor products.
The ZF transaxle used in the Mangusta was also used for the Pantera: a passenger in an early Pantera recorded that the mechanical noises emanating from the transaxle were more intrusive than the well restrained engine noise. The 1972 Pantera could accelerate to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 5.5 seconds.
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Of note about this car, Tom Horton, famous Toronto 1960s hockey player and founder of Tim Horton Donuts was killed after losing control of his 1972 De Tomaso Pantera sports car on the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) in St. Catharines, Ontario, in the early morning of February 21, 1974.
After 4:00 a.m. EST (9:00 UTC), a woman reported to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in Burlington that she had observed a car travelling at high speed on the QEW. A warning was broadcast over police radio. Thirty minutes later, OPP Officer Mike Gula observed a speeding vehicle travelling Niagara-bound on the QEW in Vineland. Gula activated his siren and attempted to pursue Horton's vehicle, but lost sight of it.
Horton passed a curve in the road at Ontario Street and was approaching the Lake Street exit in St. Catharines when he lost control and drove into the centre grass median, where his tire caught a recessed sewer which caused the car to flip several times before it came to a stop on its roof in the Toronto-bound lanes. Not wearing a seatbelt, Horton was found 123 ft (37 m) from the car. He was pronounced dead at St. Catharines General Hospital. Horton's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit and a half-filled vodka bottle was amongst the crash debris. Tim was a great hockey player and this was a sad way to lose him.
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20/08/2018 5:30 am
A friend had a metallic dark grey '72 Pantera and took me for a "ride"
one day. It was very fast, very loud inside and lots of fun but he never let me drive it! I really liked it but it was too "non-American" for me, compared to the usual muscle cars out there at the time. He drove it for a while but as he was a Mustang guy previously, he replaced it with a Mach I.
20/08/2018 2:54 pm
PANTERA
Excellent car, timeless design. The " Mangusta" with rear windows used a piano hinge.