Guide: De Tomaso Guara
Background
After producing models like the Pantera, Longchamp and Deauville for nearly 20 years (all originally bankrolled with Ford money), by the early 1990s, safety and emissions legislation had finally caught up with De Tomaso. The firm needed something new to sustain it for another decade.
Back in 1975, Alessandro de Tomaso had acquired Maserati. In the depths of the Oil Crisis, he rescued it from bankruptcy with the assistance of the Italian government.
Like the mid 1970s, the early 1990s was a tough time to be in the supercar business. This was demonstrated by De Tomaso’s final iteration of the Pantera (the SI) production of which totalled just 41 units between 1991 and 1993 (including prototypes).
A global recessionary mood was not helped by the market being awash with over production from the boom years. Chrysler-owned Lamborghini had been among the worst offenders while De Tomaso’s sister company, Maserati, had dealers backlogged with new cars for which buyers were thin on the ground.
Proven to be a shrewd operator and no doubt fully aware he was incapable of actually funding the massive development required for several new models across two brands, Alessandro de Tomaso decided to sell his remaining 50% of Maserati to Fiat in May 1993. Fiat had already acquired the original 50% in January 1990.
As part of the deal, De Tomaso retained the production rights to the Maserati Barchetta.
The Barchetta was an extreme two-seat roadster powered by a twin turbocharged V6 that had been designed for a one-make series.
It would go on to form the basis for De Tomaso’s new Pantera replacement: the Guara.
Named after an Argentinean breed of hunting dog, the Guara took over from the Pantera SI which was discontinued at the end of 1993.
The first Guara prototype was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1993. Production began in early 1994. However, when Alessandro de Tomaso suffered a stroke shortly after the Fiat-Maserati deal was concluded in mid 1993, the company lost momentum.
Chassis
From a technical perspective, the Guara shared its aluminium honeycomb spine chassis with the Maserati Barchetta. Composite materials were used for the tub while light-alloy subframes carried the suspension and engine.
A 90-litre fuel tank housed within the central chassis tube evoked memories of the unfinished 1963 Sport 2000 which was one of De Tomaso’s first prototypes.
Race-derived suspension featured unequal length wishbones with inboard pushrod Koni spring/damper units and an anti-roll bar at each end.
One of the few differences to the Maserati Barchetta was the Guara’s new anti-dive and anti-squat geometry.
Brakes were non-servo assisted ventilated discs (cross-drilled at the front) with six-piston Brembo calipers.
Like the brakes, the steering was unassisted.
Michelin-shod 18-inch Marchesini wheels were manufactured from magnesium. They measured 8.5-inches wide at the front and 10.5-inches wide at the rear.
Engine & Gearbox
Whereas De Tomaso had traditionally used Ford engines, the Guara adopted a longitudinally-mounted Type M60 B40 four-litre BMW V8.
These 3982cc all-alloy units were normally used in the 5, 7 and 8 series BMWs between 1992 and 1996. From then on, they were replaced by the new M62 derivative.
The specification comprised dual overhead camshafts, four valve cylinder heads, a 10.0:1 compression and Bosch DME M3.3 management. In standard tune, peak output was 286bhp at 5500rpm and 295lb-ft at 4500rpm.
After de-restriction, De Tomaso got this up to 304bhp at the same 5500rpm. The torque rating was unchanged.
Transmission was via a Getrag six-speed manual gearbox and limited-slip differential.
Buyers were initially given the choice of three gear ratios that gave a top speed of either 118mph, 155mph or 180mph.
Bodywork
Having already styled the Maserati Barchetta, Turin designer, Carlo Gaino, was commissioned to create the Guara bodywork.
Manufactured from a mixture of carbonfibre, Kevlar and fibreglass, the smooth profile incorporated retractable headlights, a canopy-style cockpit and massive rear girth.
Compared to the brash bewinged Panteras for which De Tomaso was perhaps best known, the Guara was a definite departure.
Although the launch prototype was a Coupe, the Barchetta version went into production first.
The Barchetta most notably featured a rudimentary air deflector in the absence of a traditional windscreen. To this end, the dash housed a distinctive central vent that channelled air away from the occupants by way of an integral spoiler.
Interior
The Barchetta had no roof and all unnecessary luxuries were deleted.
The dash, door panels, upper rear bulkhead cover and lockable storage bin were painted to match the body. The tub and composite floor were upholstered with non-slip black plastic.
Leather was used to cover the lower rear bulkhead, the transmission tunnel and the bucket seats.
A choice of three-point safety belts or four-point harnesses was available.
Instrumentation and switchgear was mostly sourced from BMW.
The more practical Coupe variant featured a fully trimmed cockpit. It was upholstered with a leather covered dash, a decent heating and ventilation system and proper carpet.
Weight / Performance
The Barchetta’s decidedly spartan trim level kept weight down to 1050kg.
Performance figures were impressive; top speed was a quoted 180mph and 0-62mph required 4.5 seconds.
For the Coupe, the final drive ratios were changed and weight rose by 150kg to 1200kg. Nevertheless, the Coupe was only fractionally slower than the no frills Barchetta.
Production
A non-running Guara prototype was displayed in Coupe form at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1993.
A production-ready Barchetta followed at Frankfurt that October.
Barchetta production began in early 1994 and Coupe assembly started soon afterwards.
Neither variant could be sold in in the USA but that was nothing new for De Tomaso as the firm had been frozen out of its biggest potential market on safety and emissions grounds since the mid 1970s.
Switch to Ford Engines
Production of both BMW-powered Guara variants continued until 1998 at which point De Tomaso made the switch to Ford power.
By this time, just nine Barchettas and around two dozen Coupes had been manufactured.
The new Ford engines were supplied by Visteon in Canada. These 4.6-litre Modular V8s were larger, heavier and less refined than the BMW units. Importantly though, they cost just one third of the price.
The new engines featured four-valve cylinder heads, dual overhead camshafts, hydraulic lifters and a 9.85:1 compression ratio. Displacement was 4601cc and EFI electronic multipoint fuel-injection was used.
Peak output was 305bhp at 6500rpm and 300lb-ft at 4800rpm.
The original Getrag transmission was replaced at the same time. It was switched to a ZF six-speed unit with matching limited-slip differential.
All this added up to a weight gain of 200kg; the Coupe now tipped the scales at 1400kg and the Barchetta was 1250kg.
Elsewhere, subtle revisions were made to the cockpit, suspension and steering.
Guara Spyder
During this latter period of production, the factory sent three Coupes to the Autosport coachworks run by Bacchelli & Villa in Bastiglia. Here they were converted to Spyder trim.
The first was for German customer, Manfred Lang, who also had a bespoke leather cockpit fitted. Lang’s interior featured a redesigned dash, door cards and instrument binnacle.
All three Spyders came with folding soft tops and electric windows plus more aggressively styled front intakes with circular spot lamps.
The exhaust systems were routed to make space for a small boot that housed custom leather luggage supplied by Schedoni.
Final Days of Production
In 2000, a supercharged Guara was mooted but never progressed beyond the concept stage. This was a shame as the potential output was somewhere between 375bhp and 430bhp.
Before production finally ended, the last few Guaras received revised front bodywork that housed a large pair of radiator cooling vents.
By this time, factory output had slowed to a trickle.
Production finally stopped in 2004 when De Tomaso went into liquidation.
Only one or two Barchettas had been completed with the Ford engine along with a dozen or so Coupes.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: De Tomaso Automobili - https://detomaso-automobili.com/
