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A brief word about the Pantera Ford Motor Company under the direction of Henry Ford II(Grandson of Henry Ford) , and the ever capable Carrol Shelby, won the 24 hours of Lemans four years in a row from 1966 to 1969 with their GT40 Supercar. After winning four years in a row , and handing Ferrari it's ass on a platter, Henry Ford II made overt motions to Enzo Ferrari to purchase Ferrari and bring it under the wing of Ford. Enzo was very incensed, and told Ford II that the company was not for sale at any price. So.... Henry Ford II, went looking to purchase an Italian coachbuilder, which he found in Detomaso S.P.A. in Modena, Italy. He also acquired the Ghia studios, and the Pantera was born. The bullet proof 351 Cleveland V8 engine from the Mustang was chosen, and the German ZF five speed transaxle from Ford's GT40 race car was employed to stir the gears. The Pantera was sold through Ford dealerships in the US beginning in 1971. The initial MSRP was slightly over $10, 000, though most dealers were selling them for around $14, 500. This was about $6, 000 less than a Ferrari at the time (in 1971 a new Daytona was about $20k), and the Pantera was noticeably faster. Stock zero to sixty time in 1971 was 5.5 seconds, top speed 175 mph (Road and Track 8/71). Less than 2300 Panteras were sold during their US importation of model years 1971 through 1974. After Ralph Nader lobbied congress regarding bumper laws, importation , and modification for the US market would prove to be too impractical for the US market. Detomaso continued to sell the Pantera to other markets in the world until 1996 on a custom order basis. This is truly an exotic and scarce automobile.
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