1118

This is a 1970 build date 2-headlight USA Mangusta model.

Color = White

230 hp, 302 cu. in. OHV V8 engine, five-speed manual transaxle, independent front and rear suspension by coil springs and wishbones, four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 98.4″

– DeTomaso’s first production model
– Well-maintained original car, from climate-controlled storage
– Designed by Georgia Giugiaro for Ghia
– One of about 400 Mangustas built between 1967-71

Alejandro de Tomaso was born in Argentina but went to Italy in 1955 in the midst of anti-Peron upheavals. There he drove OSCA racecars for the Maserati brothers and developed his first car, the Vallelunga, in 1963. It was a mid-engined, Ghia-bodied coupe with backbone chassis and English Ford engine, and about 52 were made.

In 1967, de Tomaso developed the Vallelunga into the Ford V8-powered Mangusta, helped by Carroll Shelby. Giorgio Giugiaro designed it, and Ghia built the bodies, as de Tomaso had become president of the company when it was bought by Rowan Industries, which was linked to his American wife.

The Mangusta followed the overall concept of Eric Broadley’s Lola Mk 6, which evolved into the Ford GT 40. It placed an American Ford V8 amidships, with a rear transaxle and a backbone chassis. The design falls somewhere between Marcello Gandini’s sinuous Lamborghini Miura and the later De Tomaso Pantera, a chunky design from Tom Jaarda, which replaced it. Whenever a Mangusta shows up at a Pantera gathering, it draws a crowd. The 302-cu. in. Ford V8 – visible under two almost horizontal clamshell rear windows – generates 230 horsepower, enough to push the car from 0-60 mph in 6.3 seconds, through a 15-second ¼ mile at 94 mph and to a claimed top speed of 155 mph.

The key to successful Mangusta ownership is having a car with known provenance and scrupulous maintenance and upgrades. This car comes from a very well known collection and is described as being in excellent condition, finished in red with a black leather interior. It has been carefully maintained in a climate-controlled garage in Hawaii. It has received a repaint by Junior Conway at Junior’s House of Color. As one of only about 400 Mangustas built between 1967 and 1971, it is a very rare example of a superb “hybrid” – American V8 power with a sexy Italian design.