DeTomaso Mailing List: August 2000, Message #39

Jim wrote:

>So who really does have the rights to import/distribute any car called a
Pantera at this point??

>>>DeTomaso.  They surrendered that right in 1972 to Ford when Ford purchased 
DeTomaso Automobili.  But then A. DeTomaso purchased his company back from 
Ford (for a fraction of the cost) in 1974 and regained the rights.  

As part of the Qvale agreement, Qvale took over the rights to the name 
Pantera, but as part of the "divorce", DeTomaso got the name back again.

>Didn't Lee Iaocca (sic) have the rights for awhile when he was at Chrysler?
Seems I remember they put a low-powered Dodge V-8 in a prototype Pantera,
then decided it would never work.

>>>Nope.  Iacocca and DeTomaso are buddies from way back, and Chrysler 
dabbled with the idea of producing a Chrysler-powered Pantera as part of a 
joint venture (since they were already involved in a joint venture with 
DeTomaso-owned Maserati, producing the TC by Maserati.)  Shelby was also 
involved as a consultant.

At least two late Panteras were converted to Mopar power; Shelby retained one 
(a white GT5 if I believe; Scott Black is familiar with the car) and another 
is a red GTS now owned by Paul Donderwinkel, late of England and now in New 
Zealand.  The Donderwinkel car boasts a twin-turbo small-block Chrysler motor.

But at the same time, the Dodge boys had doodled up a cartoon car they called 
the Viper.  They wheeled it out on the car show circuit and the whole world 
went berserk for it.  And the TC by Maserati venture quickly proved to be a 
major flop.  Finally, Chrysler had purchased Lamborghini outright, and thus 
already had a corporate Italian mid-engined exotic in their stable.  These 
unrelated events completely doomed any potential Chrysler/DeTomaso Pantera 
venture.

Mike