Guide: De Tomaso Pantera L
Background
Despite early teething troubles, by 1972, De Tomaso had transformed the Pantera into the kind of well built and reliable package that the Ford Motor Company originally expected.
Ford had invested heavily in De Tomaso as they desperately wanted to offer a mid-engined model before rivals General Motors and American Motors.
With its off-the-shelf powertrain and exotic Italian heritage, Ford thought they could sell 5000 Panteras every year. Impressed with an early prototype, the Americans purchased 80% of De Tomaso Automobili.
In the US, Ford planned to sell the Pantera through its Lincoln Mercury dealerships. In Europe, the car would be offered via De Tomaso’s existing network. However, in the rush to bring the Pantera to market, it was not quite as polished as it should have been.
Soon after the first production cars were delivered in early 1971, Ford had to increase their involvement to improve quality control. This began with precision stampings for the body panels.
Myriad detail changes followed and, for 1972, a raft of additional modifications were introduced.
Most significant was the arrival of an engine with four-bolt main bearing caps and a reduced compression ratio in order to meet US emissions standards.
To claw back some of the horsepower that had been lost by dropping the compression from 11.0:1 to 8.6:1, a more aggressive Cobra Jet camshaft was installed.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to stop the Pantera’s original horsepower rating of 330bhp at 5400rpm dribbling down to 296bhp at 6000rpm.
Before long, even more drastic changes were needed to keep the Pantera US compliant.
As a result, after 3643 first generation Panteras had been completed, the revised Pantera L was introduced in August 1972.
Although it was the only De Tomaso available in the USA, in Europe the Pantera L was offered alongside the high performance 330bhp Pantera GTS, the four-door Deauville and the Longchamp 2+2. Pantera Gr.3 and Gr.4 cars were available for those customers who wanted to go racing.
Ford did go on to offer an American-specification GTS for a brief time, but this was little more than a US Pantera L with a GTS-style dress up kit.
Engine & Gearbox
From August 1972, all of the 90° Cleveland V8s destined for use by De Tomaso had reverted from four to two-bolt main bearing caps.
When the Pantera L arrived, American-spec. Pantera Ls were further de-tuned in a variety of ways.
Compared to their European counterparts, they had camshafts retarded by 4° and the compression ratio was reduced once again, this time from 8.6:1 to 8.0:1.
As a result, peak output dropped to 266bhp at 5400rpm. The torque rating was now 301lb-ft at 3600rpm.
By contrast, De Tomaso still quoted European market Pantera Ls at 296bhp.
Otherwise, the Ford V8 engine remained largely as before.
It featured a cast iron block and head with pushrod actuated overhead valves. Forged steel rods were fitted along with large canted valves, wedge-shaped combustion chambers in the cylinder heads, light aluminium-alloy pistons and a cast iron intake manifold.
A four-barrel Autolite carburettor was fitted.
Displacement was 5763cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 101.6mm and 88.9mm respectively.
Transmission was via a ZF 5DS-25/1 five-speed manual gearbox with a new hydraulic Borg & Beck single plate clutch and a limited-slip differential.
A removable felt-lined fibreglass luggage tray was mounted above the transaxle.
Bodywork
The most obvious difference between US-spec. Pantera Ls and those sold in Europe was new 5mph impact bumpers fitted front and rear. These full width rubber appendages were mounted on hydraulic shock-absorbing struts that added 90kg.
European-spec. Pantera Ls used a new full width rear bumper and the original front quarter bumpers. Unlike the US version, they were chrome plated and conventionally mounted.
As usual, smaller side marker lights were fitted than on American variants.
Other bodywork changes phased in with the Pantera L included an external fuel filler cap, inverted rear deck lid supports and sealed fasteners for the trunk liner.
Compared to the ugly safety gear fitted to many high performance automobiles to keep them US legal, the Pantera L’s modifications were remarkably successful. The front bumper in particular was extremely well thought out and gave the car an even more aerodynamic appearance.
Like before, body panels were manufactured from steel.
Interior
Although the interior with its twin pod dash and vinyl upholstery appeared little changed, there were several detail improvements.
The seats were redesigned to provide better comfort and the transmission tunnel was tidied up.
A seat belt warning buzzer was added along with extra illumination for the instrument panel and switchgear (which also came with better identification).
A brake pad wear warning light was another new addition while the defroster units now rotated for more effective ventilation.
All the electrical relays were mounted on a single panel on the left-hand side of the interior with a matching fuseboard now on the right-hand side.
Perhaps the least pleasing feature was the rather cheap looking three spoke steering wheel from the Lincoln Mercury parts bin. However, this was occasionally absent from Euro-spec. Pantera Ls along with some of the other new equipment not required outside of the USA.
Chassis
Under the skin, the Tipo 874 steel monocoque was left unchanged. Designed by Giampaolo Dallara, it featured a 2500mm wheelbase and a square tubed rear subframe for the engine / gearbox.
Suspension was independent all round with double wishbones, coil springs and telescopic dampers. Anti-roll bars were fitted at either end.
Servo-assisted disc brakes came with Girling calipers.
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 Campagnolo cast magnesium wheels measured 15 x 7-inches at the front, 15 x 8-inches at the back and were now shod with Goodyear Arriva tyres.
Weight / Performance
The weight of Euro-spec. Pantera Ls remained at 1420kg.
They had a top speed of 155mph and 0-62mph time of 5.8 seconds.
As a result of its heavy new impact bumpers, the US variant tipped the scales at 1510kg.
Top speed was around 145mph and 0-62mph took 6.3 seconds.
Production Changes
The first Pantera L was assembled in August 1972 on chassis 4269.
However, the car was still very much a work in progress and lots of minor developments were made over the next twelve months.
Most significant was the arrival of a redesigned dashboard; instead of two separate pods, it was now a unified unit with the dials angled in towards the driver.
Other changes included a redesigned front upper grille assembly, a redesigned engine cover and a 90 instead of 72 amp battery.
In addition, there were many other minor changes made all the way up to September 1973.
It was at this point that a wildcat strike saw bodyshell production at Vignale shut down.
Alessandro de Tomaso had already fallen out of favour with Ford and walked out to go and manage his newly acquired motorcycle firm, Benelli.
Ford persevered for a little while longer. The last Pantera destined for North America left the De Tomaso factory in August 1974 (chassis 7380).
Ford Pulls Out / Alessando de Tomaso Returns
When Ford pulled out in the late summer of 1974, Alessandro de Tomaso returned to the firm and bought it back at a massive profit.
As part of the deal, he inherited around 200 incomplete Panteras which he finished in his own time.
De Tomaso continued to offer the Pantera L but it sold in ever decreasing numbers as most buyers opted for the more powerful GTS and subsequent wide bodied GT5 / GT5-S.
Ford discontinued the Cleveland V8 after 1974, but production carried on in Australia until 1982 which is where De Tomaso subsequently sourced their engines.
In total, around 3500 US-spec. Pantera Ls are believed to have been produced in addition to around 100 Euro market derivatives.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: De Tomaso Automobili - https://detomaso-automobili.com/
