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Last Updated 04/17/07 |
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Press Quotes
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“The beautifully styled body by Carrozzeria Ghia is faultless in every respect.”
“The Pantera is extremely low-slung and sits just off the ground, making the climb in to the cockpit a little awkward. But once inside you feel part of the car – locked into the contoured bucket seats complete with headrests.”
“The Pantera had unrealistic torque in any gear at any speed.” DeTomaso Pantera, Road Test, Jan 1971
“The benefits of a good mid-engined car like the Pantera become obvious when you start hounding it through corners. Even compared with the absolute best of the conventionally laid-out cars, the speed with which it is able to storm through bends is astounding.” Pantera by Ford, Worlds Fastest Sportscars, 1971
“No doubt about it. The Pantera is the very hottest item in this year’s automotive haute couture.” Road Test, Car & Driver, 1971
“One would think in an otherwise superbly sleek design that a way could have been found to bury the wipers when at rest. There’s nothing under them except trunk space.” Svelte Italo-American, Road Test, April 1972
“The de Tomaso Pantera represents further proof – if further proof be needed – that the mid-engine concept works as well for road cars and for drivers of moderate ability as it does in racing.”
“But the Pantera is not just a safe and highly accelerative cornering machine. It is completely practical for long-distance touring with a roomy cockpit, plenty of luggage space, an adequate ride and a reasonable level of refinement.”
“Against the level of near-perfection set by the Dino, the Pantera measures up well. It has more performance, for example, better seats and a superior instrument layout, while some thought it even more handsome than the Dino, with crisper lines.”
Even by the standards of the very best conventional sports cars it is easy to be surprised by the speeds at which it is possible to take corners in a good mid-engined machine like the Pantera which has double wishbone suspension at both ends.” Road Test, Motor, June 1972
“The 351 Ford engine has gobs of power and marvelous lugging ability which we made full use of to avoid using the clutch as much as possible, but there’s a thunderous exhaust resonance around 2000 rpm that produces enough decibels inside the car to drive you up the wall.” Pantera Update, Road Test, August 1972
“Frankly, driving a machine like the Pantera is an incredible experience and anyone who says they wouldn’t like to try it must be nuts.”
“In town, the ample torque of the robust 351 cubic inch engine makes shifting almost pointless.”
“Steering is excellent with instant response and good feedback from the road surface and tires.”
“Rearward visibility is restricted, but we wouldn’t change a thing.” Road Test, Driving, November 1972
“Shattering performance and spectacularly good looks are just two of the attributes which put the Pantera fairly and squarely in the “supercar” bracket.”
“Everything connected with the Pantera is suggestive of power; and on the road, it more than lives up to its promise.”
“Not by any stretch of the imagination can the Pantera be described as a quiet car. Nevertheless, the fact that it is not much noisier at 120mph than at 80mph makes it a fairly easy one to live with.”
“The Pantera has it’s faults. Even so, it is a thoroughly desirable car – one which is tremendous fun to drive. It is, we feel, a car for the man who would have liked a Mk III GT40.” Pantera, Successor to the Ford GT40?, Autocar, December 1972
“The Pantera’s whole raison d’etre is to provide – like the Cobra of recent memory – safe, effortless performance of the greatest road-going sports cars of the world at a price that does not exceed or even come close to the price of shelter.”
“In spite of its staggering capabilities, the Pantera is quite comfortable, more so in terms of ride and quiet than Ferrari’s delightful Dino.”
“What is definitely NOT debatable is the fact that the Pantera is truly desirable property, regardless of price, the most desirable property in its category marketed by a Detroit firm since the Cobra. It is also one of the best handling, most secure vehicles in the world.”
“The quality that finally comes home after a period of time with the car is that its shattering performance is so effortless and secure.” Mr. Ford’s Pantera, Motor Trend, May 1973
“The DeTomaso Pantera, the most controversial sports car of recent years, has been chose by the editors of Road Test as the “sports car of the year.” Why? Simple – because it’s the best sports car in the world for the money.”
“It makes the Corvette look as appallingly passé as a front engined Indy car.”
“The Pantera is more than great styling. It is a unique new package, the GT car of the future, here today, combining all the latest technical advances of race car and Gran Turismo design.” Pantera – Sports Car of the Year, Road Test, May 1973
“The Pantera has styling and suspension sophistication in the finest Italian tradition, but its heart is 5.7 litres of pure Detroit power.
“If you’re using the gears and the redline, however, the acceleration is mind-bending. Sports Car World, August 1973
“Brutal but beautiful. Pop-up headlamps and integral bumper give the Pantera’s nose a clean, uncluttered look. DeTomaso Pantera GTS, Quick Cars, Car, January 1975
“Summing up the De Tomaso Pantera is a very difficult job. It is a hot rod, yet it is an exotic car worthy of the tag. It is impractical, yet it is easy to drive and (thanks to its engine) cheap to service.” The Pantera Parable, Sports Car World, January 1981
“Italy's DeTomaso started with exotic, Ferrariesque bodies, then added Ford V8 engines, making it's cars less hassle to maintain than other Italian imports.” Dow Jones Investment-Car Index, Wall Street Journal, October 2004
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