1972 DeTomaso Pantera Lusso - Beautiful, Rust Free, Low Miles, Ready to Enjoy!

1972 De Tomaso Other Additional Info:

It is almost silly to sell this stunning car at this point, with the CRAZY rally on prices Panteras are seeing, so if you have been waiting for a clean Pantera before they double in price AGAIN, take a minute to pour over this beauty! This is a long ad, but please be sure to read the entire thing - there is a lot of wonderful detail to cover! Let's dive right in!
Background:
Designed and brought to life by Tom Tjaarda, the designer of many noteworthy cars including the Ferrari 330GT and Ferrari 365GT California, the Pantera was as crafted by one of the best minds and hands the world had to offer. The 1971 debut year for the car, while beautiful and fast needed a lot of details sorted. The 1972 and forward years sorted most of these details and made for such a spectacular car that the Pantera was Road Test Magazine’s Import car of the year beating out Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, and Porsche.
Let's move on to this car specifically:
This car is not only an early car, but avoids the pitfalls of poor craftsmanship of first run cars, and also has a lower compression ratio which is much more pump gas friendly. This is an early Lusso, being car #410 of all Lusso manufactured in 1972. The car featured bumpers which reduced lift and more refinements to the build quality as well as a heavy Ford involvement to ensure the car they wanted to stand behind. Bought originally in California by an artist, this rust free beauty lives in its native home in dry, climate controlled storage. Only 34,000 miles grace this odometer and the rest of the car shows the same care.
This Pantera was not a one off purchase. It sits within an extremely robust collection filled with both rare and eclectic cars, moreover, it even sits beside other Pantera and historical important Fords. Pantera experts watch over and maintain this beauty and assure that it is in wonderful running and driving condition. This car is ready to be driven and was not trailered to our photo site.
This is an investment quality car which is mostly stock and looks fantastic in yellow over black!
The Condition and Service:
Let's start on the engine and drivetrain:
-ENGINE
This engine comes to life with a turn of the key and press of the floor mounted starter pedal without any drama. It warms up nicely and revs beautifully. This is the original number matching engine without any modifications from stock other than the Holley 750 carb, Edelbrock intake manifold, upgraded Mallory distributor and air filter. All of these modifications thankfully are simple bolt ons which create a much better driving and ownership experience but are very easily returned to 100% stock should the new owner choose. New starter assures she cranks over every time. The engine was both cosmetically and mechanically restored including rebuilt and unleaded gas friendly heads.
Check out the underside pics and the engine bay pics! Flawless.
-TRANSMISSION
The 5 speed transmission is in wonderful shape. The shifter eases into gear without any drama and was just recently serviced and adjusted.
-SUSPENSION
BRAND NEW springs, shocks, poly control arm bushings, ball joints, and ends. No bangs, no rough ride, no clunks! Wonderful tight suspension!
-BRAKES
Confident pedal, great pressure with a firm positive stop.
-STEERING
Steering feels good, no excessive play or vibrations.
Let's continue to the exterior:
-PAINT and BODY
The paint is VERY nice. A 8+/9- out of 10. Both underside and top side shine beautiful and present cleanly. The yellow paint is a recent high quality repaint of the original color and is glossy, wet and looks stunning with only minor flaws at best. Nothing large enough to really even capture in pictures. The paint job was a windows out, trim off, and thoughtful job and presents very well. No signs of any accidents or damage. Since purchased, in already clean shape, much was done to take care of many of the details to make for a truly beautiful car.
-WHEELS/TIRES
Wonderful shape, loads of tread on new tires. The Campanolo wheels look very nice with only minor flaws.
-BUMPERS and BRIGHT WORK
The bumpers are in wonderful shape! Chrome is in wonderful shape.
-GLASS/WINDOWS
Not to let a pebble defeat this car, the windshield is great shape. The side and rear windows are clean and clear.
-UNDERCARRIAGE:
RUST FREE, beautiful shape and no stories. Check out the pics! The car also has dropped floorpans to allow for taller drivers. Stock pans are tough for anyone over 6 foot, this small and visual unnoticeable detail allows for more flexibility in drivers and future buyers even if you are buying to make money on the resale of the car in a couple years.
Onto the cabin:
-SEATS
The original black vinyl seats are in beautiful shape! No splits, no worn spots! Just wonderful original material in great shape! Really quite impressive how well it is has aged, but a great sign of the low miles! Consider time was spent to condition and preserve the vinyl as well.
-DASHBOARD
Beautiful shape with gauges working, no cracks or major flaws.
-DOOR PANELS
Original door panels in very nice shape and no major flaws
-HEADLINER
Great shape with no tears or frays
-STEERING WHEEL
The wheel is in nice shape with some small scratches and minor flaws on the rim. The hub and center are in great shape
-HEAT and AC
COLD AC! Wow, reread that one Pantera fans! How many Pantera have broken or missing AC? This is a great detail which makes for an investment quality car. Hot heat!
-CARGO SPACE:
The fiberglass trunk section is present and in great shape! Front trunk is clean!
Documentation/Tools/Manuals
This beauty comes with the original owners manual!
The Experience:
How is is possible to sum up this driving experience? Even when approaching this Pantera, you can feel how special it really is. It's not just any Pantera. It has roots in an early special time for these cars and at the peak of the muscle car era. It is wild in looks and WAY more wild in speed. A turn of the key and the engine roars to life, let it warm up a hair and its settles down into an idle quieter than expected, though still aggressive. The clutch is easy to modulate and only medium weight. The car is remarkably easy to drive around town. It doesn't buck and beg you to rev it out. Let your foot ease off the clutch and feed in a little gas and you are off. Not a car that needs to rev to death to move it. Perhaps, you need to gently cruise out of town first, rowing 1st, 2nd and 3rd weaving slowly through the streets. The steering is very direct and gives good feel and the engine is surprisingly tame thanks to smart engineering and easy to drive. The highway onramp approaches, a blip of the gas and a downshift to 2nd, you reshuffle yourself in the drivers seat a bit knowing what is about to occur...and here it comes! The throttle response is immediate and begins to gobble up road. And I mean GOBBLE UP road. The car fights for traction, but stays straight as you keep your foot in it. The back end gives its slow little wags as it grips tenaciously hunting for all the stickiest asphalt. The engine seems to have unlimited power and as it spins up in revs comes more and more alive. The power comes on even stronger as it nears its redline and you are shocked you are even reaching for another gear because you are already very illegal in speed. You grab 3rd and for that brief moment in between gears the mania of the right pedal ceases. But as you select 3rd and roll back into the throttle, the monster is back trying to get out of cage! Dare you grab 4th gear with your foot still buried? Maybe later, as you settle back down into a calm highway pace - the beast under the hood is calm again and your Jekyll and Hyde Pantera just made your day...again.
Vicarious driving aside, this Pantera is an absolute experience to drive. It is tight, reasonably comfortable, VERY quick, surprisingly nimble and much easier to putz around town in than most other older exotics or muscle. This car is equally at home at the track as it is the street. You could easily buy this car and turn exceedingly fast lap times without breaking a sweat. Imagine your friend's surprise when you run circles around their new Porsche 911. There are few cars from the that can feel this exciting - this Pantera is it! I hope you can tell by my long ad that this car is an amazing, well sorted and beautiful Pantera. This really is a very special car to drive and with the great care mechanically and it is a worry free hot rod, ready to be enjoyed on road or track!
Feel free to ask me any questions at all. Residents around the world I am happy to be flexible for your arranged shipper so that you can get your new car as soon as possible. International buyers are welcome. Our reserve price is very reasonable.
My standard disclaimer/mantra for any car regardless of service or price: The car is sold with no warranty. You are buying a used car. Eventually every car will break, if you find one that doesn't please let me know. I do my ABSOLUTE BEST to offer only cars that are of TOP NOTCH service. I am not a dealer, just a guy who loves Pantera (among other cars) and hope to pass along my passion and fervor for these cars. That said if ever you encounter an issue I do my best to provide advice, direction or even parts if I have them. Please understand that it is a used car and will have minor signs of use. That means please do not expect a showroom brand new car. Please adjust your expectation level to that of a 44 year old car, but however is above average for it's year. This Pantera is in great shape for the year, but please just remember that no 34,000 mile car is perfect. It is though a clean, nice Pantera! Please only bid if you intend to buy. If you would like to have an Ebay 3rd party mechanic service check out the car I MORE than welcome it. Please have the car checked out before bidding and not after, if you intend to use that service. And please, if you would like to utilize this service, contact me with more than a couple days left in the auction so we can arrange schedules. Please check your local laws and registration procedures before buying. Buying over the internet can be scary sometimes! I get it, because I am an enthusiast too!! For that very reason, I am more than happy to answer every and any question you may so you know 100% what you are buying. But, please ask any and all questions ahead of purchase! All sales are final, you are buying as-is, the sky is blue, etc, etc. Sorry to have to give the boring speech.