Tested 10.9.86
Fourteen years after we first drove the cult Italian supercar, the De Tomaso Pantera was back with new looks, more power and bucketloads of attitude.
A mid-mounted, iron-hewn V8 from Ford fed power to a ZF rear transaxle with a limited-slip diff and ‘Le Mans’-spec lower final drive. A £4000 power pack pushed output beyond 400bhp.
Although lumpy at low revs, power delivery became smooth above 3000rpm, and despite its 1460kg, the GT5-S matched Porsche’s 911 Turbo for pace.
Engine and road noise made conversation impossible above tickover, but ride quality was exceptional. All-round double wishbones, revised springs and dampers and fat tyres helped generate excellent cornering grip in the dry. Roll was well contained, and the chassis was throttle adjustable. Wet weather called for caution, though. The steering was very heavy in town but ideally weighted at speed.
The cosy cabin featured soft leather seats and an attractive exposed gearshift gate, but the air-con didn’t work, rear visibility was awful and drivers had to splay their knees to get into position.
For: Performance, handling, ride quality
Against: Refinement, visibility, driving position
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The really surprising thing was that the Pantera lasted so long originally it was sold badged as a Ford in the US market but poor quality and the first oil crisis soon put to an end after about 5500 had been sold. the car lingered on until 1992 adding about another 1700 to the production total.