One to Buy: 1 of 3 in Oro Met. 1968 De Tomaso Mangusta
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Having been the second manufacturer to offer a mid-engined production car (the four cylinder Vallelunga), Alejandro de Tomaso took his company into the big league when he launched a V8-powered model with the same race car-inspired layout at the Turin Salon in November 1966.
Dubbed Mangusta, the new machine was named after one of the few mammals that could kill a cobra as Alejandro de Tomaso was still smarting at how Carroll Shelby had cancelled an agreement that would have seen De Tomaso Automobili construct a new Sports racing car for the American firm (the 70P).
Nevertheless, De Tomaso went on to use the beefed up underpinnings developed for the 70P as the basis for what became the car that really put his company on the map.
Following the ‘66 Turin prototype, 401 examples of the Mangusta were produced between 1967 and ‘71, the majority of which were assembled with five-litre 230bhp motors as opposed to the more highly tuned 4.7-litre 306bhp unit as used in the Shelby GT350 Mustang.
However, one of these rare and ultra desirable 289 cubic-inch variants is currently on offer at the Thiesen Automobile showroom in Hamburg.
Not only was this particular example from 1968 equipped with the 306bhp V8, it is one of just a reputed three finished in highly evocative Oro Metallizzato, a colour so well suited to the Mangusta’s profile that Ghia used it for the original 1966 prototype. Having undergone extensive restoration by a German De Tomaso specialist, this spectacular Mangusta is presented in excellent condition throughout.
