One to Buy: 33,000km 1991 De Tomaso Pantera SI
/
The late eighties supercar boom proved a blessing for De Tomaso as an influx of speculators led to dramatically increased demand for all kinds of collectable and exotic motor cars.
As a result, the little firm from Modena experienced a late surge in demand for their ageing Pantera GT5S which was often considered a less expensive and cheaper to run alternative to a Lamborghini Countach.
Unfortunately, boom quickly turned to bust and by mid 1990 the party was over.
Sensibly, during the good times, De Tomaso invested heavily to bring an updated Pantera to market. The resultant Pantera SI was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in April 1990 just weeks before the market crashed.
Unfortunately, a long drawn out recession followed and buyers for the handsome new SI (the most extensively modified Pantera yet seen) were thin on the ground.
By the time production was stopped in late 1993, just 41 examples of the SI had been produced. Of these, 38 were sold to customers (with four converted into Targas), two were crash tested and the last car was retained by the factory.
This stunning Giallo Fly Italian-delivered example is currently on offer at Thiesen’s showroom in Hamburg, Germany. It has covered just 33,000km and comes with a documented service record from new.
As a result of their normally aspirated Ford engines, these cars are comparatively inexpensive to maintain when compared to contemporary models from the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. Thanks to their low build numbers, they are also exceptionally rare.
