Guide: De Tomaso Pantera Gr.3
Background
Having acquired De Tomaso to get their hands on the Pantera and beat domestic rivals GM and AMC to be the first to offer a mid-engined model, Ford also financed a high profile Group 4 racing programme for 1972.
Group 4 was the ultimate Grand Touring category of its day and permitted manufacturers to fit the base model with much wider wheels and heavily tuned engines. To be accepted, a manufacturer had to build 500 production cars within a twelve month timeframe.
Having hit this target, the FIA approved De Tomaso’s Group 4 application on January 2nd 1972.
That year, works and factory-supported Panteras took on the Porsche 911 ST, Ferrari 365 GTB/4C and Chevrolet Corvette in a range of contests to include the World Sportscar Championship and the inaugural European GT Championship.
In addition to the spectacular Group 4 division, there was a second Grand Touring class for vehicles that had hit a 1000 car production target: Group 3.
Unlike Group 4, Group 3 was essentially a class for stock unmodified machinery that, aside from additional safety equipment, remained in more or less standard trim.
De Tomaso reached the 1000 car target by the early summer of 1972 and the Pantera was approved for Group 3 homologation on July 2nd.
Panteras prepared to Group 3 trim were then sold to customers (to include several of De Tomaso’s European distributors) who went on to use their cars in circuit races, rallies and mixed events such as the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
Group 3 Upgrades
Customers that wanted a Group 3 Pantera could specify any combination of optionally available equipment.
Mechanical upgrades homologated for Group3 included reinforced wishbones, adjustable anti-roll bars, constant velocity joints, a free-flow exhaust system, a 78 amp battery, a heavy-duty clutch and two alternative sets of gear ratios.
There was also a good quantity of safety equipment to choose from such as bucket seats (upholstered with vinyl bolsters and fabric centres), racing harnesses, a six-point roll cage (complete with cutaway Plexiglas rear window), a fire extinguisher, an emergency cut-off switch, sliding Plexiglas side windows and retaining straps for both the front and rear lids.
Other Group 3 options included a removable engine access hatch behind the seats, a competition fuel filler cap, lightweight front and rear bumpers and a three-spoke Momo steering wheel.
Chassis
The rest of the Group 3 specification was unchanged from a standard Pantera.
Each car was built on a Tipo 874 steel monocoque with 2500mm wheelbase and square tubed rear subframe.
Suspension was fully independent via double wishbones, coil springs and telescopic dampers. Anti-roll bars were fitted at either end.
Servo-assisted disc brakes came with Girling calipers. The discs had a 282mm up front and 297mm diameter at the rear.
Steering was unassisted rack and pinion type.
An 85-litre fuel tank was mounted in the left-hand side of the engine bay up against the rear bulkhead.
The cast magnesium Campagnolo wheels measured 15 x 7-inches at the front, 15 x 8-inches at the back and originally came shod with Pirelli or Michelin tyres.
Engine / Gearbox
Although De Tomaso had ushered in a series of changes for the 1972 model year Pantera (to include a four-bolt main-bearing cap 296bhp engine with a lower compression ratio and simplified exhaust manifold), cars built to Group 3 specification generally came with a two-bolt main bearing cap motor built to the original specification with an 11.0:1 compression ratio and De Tomaso’s own headers.
The 5.8-litre V8 engines used by De Tomaso during this period were manufactured at Ford’s Cleveland factory in Ohio. They featured a cast-iron block and head with pushrod actuated overhead valves.
Other equipment included forged steel rods, large canted valves, wedge-shaped combustion chambers in the cylinder heads, light aluminium-alloy pistons and a cast-iron intake manifold.
Displacement was 5763cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 101.6mm and 88.9mm respectively.
With a four-barrel Autolite carburettor fitted, peak output was 330bhp at 5400rpm and 380lb-ft at 3400rpm.
Transmission was through a ZF 5DS-25/1 five-speed manual gearbox, hydraulic single plate clutch and limited-slip differential.
Bodywork
As per the regulations, Group 3 bodywork was no different to a standard Pantera other than if optional equipment such as retaining straps were fitted.
Up front, retractable headlights were located above small chrome bumperettes that neatly shrouded the indicators. The front lid opened to reveal a small luggage area.
Dummy intakes were located behind each three-quarter window. Satin black sills lent the car a slender profile.
The entire upper rear body section was hinged at the leading edge to provide access to the engine bay and a storage bin (the latter typically removed for Group 3 competition to save weight).
A handsome tail fascia was home to Carello tail lights and either a split or single-piece bumper.
Chrome was used for the window frames, door catches, bumpers, windscreen wipers, front grille shroud and model script.
The Ghia-designed bodywork was fabricated entirely from steel at the Vignale works in Turin.
Interior
Unless specified otherwise, Group 3 Panteras came with manual windows, no air-conditioning, black vinyl upholstery and thinner carpet with less sound insulation.
Most cars were automatically equipped with a padded three spoke steering wheel imported from the American Ford Capri GT.
The 8000rpm tach and 200mph / 300kmh speedometer were initially located in twin cowls directly behind the steering wheel. Supplementary gauges for oil pressure, water temperature, fuel and battery condition were stacked vertically on the centre console alongside a variety of rocker switches.
Soon after production began, De Tomaso switched to a redesigned dashboard that, instead of two separate primary instrument pods, now featured a unified unit with the dials angled inwards towards the driver.
COMFORT Options
If desired, buyers could specify standard-type comfort seats, head rests, air-conditioning, electric windows, iodine headlights and tinted glass.
Radios were usually installed by the supplying dealer but not generally fitted.
Weight / Performance
As a consequence of the various weight-saving measures, Group 3 Panteras tipped the scales at 1360kg which was 60kg less than a standard derivative.
Top speed was 162mph and 0-62mph took 5.6 seconds.
Subsequently Homologated Equipment
New equipment was continuously homologated for Group 3 to include wheelarch extensions (July 1972), uprated carburettors and valves, an improved exhaust and dry-sump lubrication system (January 1973), a deep front spoiler and wider 8 / 10-inch wheels (October 1974).
End of Production
De Tomaso continued to offer the Pantera Group 3 until the end of 1981 when the original homologation approval came to an end.
The precise number of cars built to Group 3 specification is understood to have been a little under 40 units.
Competition History
Group 3 Panteras went onto compete successfully for the duration of the seventies during which time they racked up many race and hillclimb victories.
Among the most successful drivers to compete in these cars were privateers Antonio Trenti, Giuseppe De Gregorio, Chris Meek and Marco Capoferri. The French, German and Belgian De Tomaso distributor teams (Ecurie Franco Britannic, Ital Import and Claude Dubois) also experienced a good deal of success.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: De Tomaso Automobili - https://detomaso-automobili.com/
