This is supposed to be a step towards the return of the “glory days” of American luxury cars.
De Tomaso is a sports car manufacturer headquartered in Modena, Italy. Its founder was an Argentinean entrepreneur Alejandro de Tomaso. Initially (in 1959) the company specialized in the production of prototypes and racing cars, and its first own sports car was introduced in 1963. The most famous model remains the Pantera coupe (produced in the 70s and 80s). In 2014, the brand was bought by the Hong Kong company Ideal Team Ventures, which intends to gain a foothold in the ultra-luxury segment.
The company has quite strong ties with the American auto industry: many models, including the famous Pantera, were equipped with Ford engines (in particular, the Pantera was powered by a Ford V8). And the US car market itself is still one of the largest. So there is nothing surprising in De Tomaso’s desire to move to the United States: the company announced the transfer of activities yesterday. The corresponding project was named Mission American Automotive Renaissance.
It is planned to move all major operations, major corporate facilities, the vehicle design division, as well as their production to the States. So, it is here that the Italian brand intends to launch the release of its new product – the De Tomaso P72 coupe. It has not yet been announced where the company’s production site will be located: now the management is choosing from several options (the decision will become known within six months).
De Tomaso unveiled the P72 coupe in early summer 2019 at the UK Goodwood Festival of Speed. This sports car is based on the De Tomaso P70 spider. At the heart of the new coupe is a carbon fiber monocoque from Apollo Intensa Emozione, created by the Italian company Manifattura Automobili Torino; also made of carbon fiber bearing elements of the chassis and outer body panels. The suspension is of a push-rod type “in a circle”, and the brakes are carbon-ceramic. Bugatti is thinking of releasing an “everyday” model. It will not be a sports car
The engine for the coupe is produced by the Roush Performance studio (it was founded by the American engineer Jack Rush, who excelled in NASCAR races and participated in the development of engines for the Ford GT). For De Tomaso P72, a unit was prepared based on Ford’s 5.0-liter V8 with a 90-degree camber angle.
As it was reported earlier, the engine has a dry sump lubrication system and is equipped with the original Roush screw mechanical supercharger, thanks to which it produces a maximum of 710 hp. and 825 Nm. Maximum revs – 7500. The motor is paired with a six-speed “mechanics” developed by De Tomaso. It takes about two seconds for a sports car to accelerate from a standstill to almost “hundreds” (up to 97 km / h), and its maximum speed is 355 km / h.
De Tomaso CEO Ryan Burris said the decision to launch the P72 sports car in the United States would be a step towards returning the “glory days” of American luxury cars. The first cars are expected to roll off the assembly line in the last quarter of 2022. In total, it is planned to release 72 copies of the model. The price tag will be about 750 thousand euros. Then the brand plans to introduce the revived Pantera and Mangusta, the respective names have already been patented.