One to Buy: ex works / Jolly Club Giro d'Italia winning 1972 De Tomaso Pantera Gr.4
Flush with Ford cash, De Tomaso decided to take the Pantera Group 4 motor racing where it would go head-to-head with Ferrari’s 365 GTB/4C, the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR and Chevrolet’s Corvette.
14 examples of the Pantera Gr.4 were built between December of 1971 and December 1972, all of which were equipped with a lightweight Tipo 874A chassis. In addition, these highly specialised machines came with uprated brakes and suspension, wide wheels with monster fender flares, an array of aero and cooling refinements, tuned 5.7-litre V8 engines and a comprehensively stripped interior.
Highlights of the Pantera’s 1972 – ‘73 campaign included a fifth place finish and class win at the 1972 Monza 1000km, a trio of European GT Championship victories and, perhaps most famously, first place overall on the 1973 Giro d’Italia.
Currently on offer at the Ruote da Sagno showroom in Reggio Emilia is that very car which took the 1973 Giro for De Tomaso: chassis 2873.
Signed off on December 13th 1972 (the penultimate Gr.4 Pantera built), chassis 2873 was supplied to the Jolly Club who campaigned the car on De Tomaso’s behalf in the 1973 European GT Championship where it experienced little success.
However, chassis 2873’s fortunes turned at the season-ending ‘73 Giro where Mario Casoni and Raffaele Minganti emerged victorious after four gruelling days of regularity sections, circuit races and hillclimbs.
The car was subsequently sold to privateer Odoardo Govoni who continued to campaign it. Today, this most important De Tomaso is presented in super condition and would make a competitive mount for all manner of historic events.
Reprinted below is Ruote da Sogno’s description:
A true monster of power designed by Tom Tjaarda who worked at Ghia, the bodywork assembled at Vignale with some parts made by the Maggiora body shop and painted in Ghia, before being shipped to Modena for the assembly of the powerful 5763 cc Ford 351 Cleeveland V8 engine.
This example is the exasperation of the basic model with a development according to the specifications of the Group 4 of which only 14 examples were produced to be delivered to the drivers and teams and intended for competitions.
The Group 4s are developed by De Tomaso using dry sump lubrication, four Weber double-barrel carburettors and 525 HP of power.
This example, still in its original livery, represents a milestone in the history of motorsport. Entrusted to the driver Mario Casoni, it is the car that won the 1973 Giro Automobilistico d'Italia.
