DeTomaso Mailing List: July 99, Message #239

Where the Mangusta name comes in is FOrd origionally was looking at the
Mangusta as the car to import but decided not to because the design was not
easy to mass produce.  The Pantera origionally had several names thrown
around including I believe just 351.  If I remember right the name Pantera
was dismised at first and later picked as a last minute thing.

Dave "not all that good at history" D

At 01:47 PM 7/7/99 -0400, you wrote:
>All,
>
> With all the reading I've done, I don't recall this thread on the Pantera
>being called a Mangusta....  but then CRS is an evil thing....  While true
>that the early Mustang prototype was called a Cougar (with pictures of a
>Cougar in the front grill corral!), I would have to question the
>Pantera/Mangusta thing.
>
>Why?
>
>The Mangusta was released to the Turin Auto Show in 66 or 67, plenty of
>years before the Pantera came about. Production didn't get started until
>probably early to mid 68 (in order to call them 69 model year cars...) I
>have an old Popular Mechanics from 67 that has a snippit pic' of the "new"
>Mangusta in it.
>
>Ol' Shel' did do the about face thing with DeTomaso and run off to Ford who
>offered him a giant toy box to play in!!!  Who wouldn't have!  (And they
>speak the same language too...) This would have been the 65ish time frame,
>which would have corresponded to the subsequent release of the "Snake
>Eater" at Turin....
>
>I would think that the name Pantera was chosen for other reasons.... sleek,
>growly, amble, stealthy, fast, powerful, Cougar was successful already,
>Jaguar the same... but the Panther was only successful in snowmobiles....
>sooooo.... 
>
>Anyway, my $.03 on the subject.
>Steve
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