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57-717: The Pantera was designed by the Italian design firm Carrozzeria Ghia 's American-born designer Tom Tjaarda and replaced the Mangusta . Unlike the Mangusta, which employed a steel backbone chassis, the Pantera's chassis was of a steel monocoque design, the first instance of De Tomaso using this construction technique. The car debuted in Modena in March 1970 and was presented at the 1970 New York Motor Show

114-513: A Ford V8 . From then on, the Ghia studios were an integral part of Ford of Europe 's styling operation – producing mostly concept cars although some production models were styled by the firm – the most notable being the Ford Fiesta Mk1 in 1976, which was penned by Ghia's Tom Tjaarda . Aside from this, the most publicly visible sign of Ford's ownership of Ghia has been its use of the name to denote

171-571: A close partner for 15 years, resulting in eighteen Chrysler Ghia Specials (1951–53), the K-310, the Chrysler Norseman , the Imperial Crown limousines (whose notable owners included Jackie Kennedy and Nelson Rockefeller ), and others. There are even a few Ghia-bodied Ferraris . Ghia also participated in the short-lived Dual-Ghia venture. Production by Ghia was always in very low numbers, giving

228-546: A custom order and very limited basis, until the late 1980s. The car continued to use a Ford V8 engine, although in late 1986, when the supply of Ford 351 Cleveland engines from Australia ran out, De Tomaso gradually began supplanting them with Ford 351 Windsor engines in the Pantera instead. In all, about 7,260 cars in total were built. In 1990 the 351 engine was replaced by the 5.0-litre Ford 302 engine featuring electronic fuel injection and modified cylinder heads, intake manifolds, camshafts, valves, and pistons. Stopping power

285-516: A few weeks later. Approximately a year later the first production cars were sold, and production was increased to three per day. De Tomaso sold the rights to the Pantera to Ford, who were to distribute the cars in the United States through its Lincoln-Mercury dealerships, while Alejandro De Tomaso retained the rights to market the Pantera in Europe. The slat-backed seats which had attracted criticism at

342-447: A good amount of financial backing in the development of the road going Pantera had little interest in the motorsport version of the car and refused to supply engines for the Group 4 Pantera. De Tomaso engaged a private US based engine builder Bud Moore to supply engines for the car. Based on the same Ford 351 Cleveland V8 engine used in the road going Pantera, the engine in the Group 4 Pantera

399-419: A heavy duty single clutch plate. The first Group 4 Panteras were entered into the 1972 24 Hours of LeMans. The problems of the car then began to become apparent. The engine proved to be unreliable and the car was also subject to a weight penalty, increasing the weight to 1,250 kg (2,756 lb). This was set reportedly high due to Porsche 's influence over the governing body of the race. Another problem of

456-574: A more aggressive steering rack setup, ventilated disc brakes, adjusted spring rates and gear ratios, and conspicuous matte black body elements. The Pantera logo included a T-shaped symbol that was the brand used by De Tomaso's Argentinian cattle ranching ancestors, as well as a version of the Argentinean flag turned on its side, inspired by the company's founder, Alejandro De Tomaso, having been born and raised in Argentina. Late in 1971, Ford began importing

513-474: A motorsport oriented Group 3 version of the car. This was followed by a modified Group 4 version in 1972. British engineer and driver Mike Parkes, who had previously developed racing cars for Ferrari was tasked with the development of the new car. As per the regulations, the Group 4 car was based around the road car's steel monocoque chassis. The double wishbone suspension was substantially modified and Koni adjustable shocks were used in order to improve handling at

570-540: Is currently owned by Ford Motor Company and focused on the European market through Ford's subsidiary in the region . Through the years, Ghia has produced many bodies for several automobile manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo , Chrysler , Ferrari , Fiat , Ford, Jaguar , and Volkswagen . Ghia initially made lightweight aluminium-bodied cars, achieving fame with the Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 , winning Mille Miglia (1929). Between

627-619: The Ford Laser , Fairmont, Fairlane and Telstar ). One notable exception to this convention was the Scorpio model in the United Kingdom, which was essentially a rebadged Granada Mk3, slotting in above the Ghia in the model lineup. This lasted until the major facelift of 1994, when the Granada name was dropped and replaced by Scorpio for all variants, at which point the Ghia model resumed its position at

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684-604: The Renault Floride . After Segre's death in 1963, Ghia was sold to Ramfis Trujillo in 1965, who in turn sold the company in 1967 to Alejandro de Tomaso , owner of a rival design house . De Tomaso never managed to run Ghia profitably and in 1970 he sold his shares to the Ford Motor Company . During this transition period, Ghia had partial involvement in the De Tomaso Pantera , a high-performance, mid-engined car using

741-543: The bending moment created by the offset distance from the connecting rod to the main bearing. When describing a crankshaft design, the number of main bearings is generally quoted, as the number of crank pins is determined by the cylinder layout. For example, the Toyota VZ V6 engine is described as having a "four bearing crankshaft" and the Jaguar XK6 straight-six engine has a "seven bearing crankshaft". The lower half of

798-580: The American supplies stopped. These engines were tuned in Switzerland and were available with a range of outputs up to 360 PS (265 kW; 355 hp). After Ford had the pressing tools destroyed and Vignale went bankrupt, the supply of about 175 Vignale-built bodies in white soon dried up. De Tomaso switched to using bodies hand-built by Maggiora in mid-1976. After a falling out over low quality work, De Tomaso switched to Embo S.p.A. , who went on to build

855-453: The European market. The GTS was developed for Group 3 racing and received a more powerful engine with 350 PS (257 kW; 345 hp) DIN at 6000 rpm, thanks to a 11.0 : 1 compression ratio (versus 8.0 : 1 in the US market Pantera), larger Holley carburetors, a forged aluminum intake manifold, and freer flowing exhaust headers. The GTS also has considerably wider wheels,

912-544: The Ford engine reduced the need for excessive gear changing at low speeds: this made the car much less demanding to drive in urban conditions than many of the locally built offerings. The ZF transaxle used in the Mangusta was also used for the Pantera: a passenger in an early Pantera recorded that the mechanical noises emanating from the transaxle were more intrusive than the well restrained engine noise. Another Italian car that shared

969-584: The GT5-S model which had blended arches and a distinctive wide-body look. The GT5 also incorporated better brakes, a more luxurious interior, much larger wheels and tires and the fiberglass body kit also included an air dam and side skirts. Production of the wide body GT5 (and similarly equipped narrow body GTS models) continued until 1985, when the GT5-S replaced the GT5. Although the factory has not made its records available, an analysis based on Vehicle Identification Numbers by

1026-685: The Ghia name became Ford's top trim-level in its mainstream model range. The trend began in Europe and North America ( Mustang II , Granada , Capri , Cortina , Escort , and later Fiesta , Sierra , Sierra Sapphire, Orion , Scorpio , Mondeo , Focus all had Ghia trim levels), but soon spread worldwide, particularly to the South American (with the Argentinian Ford Falcon and Taunus, the Brazilian Ford Del Rey and versions of Escort, Focus and Mondeo) and Asia Pacific markets (with

1083-415: The Group 3 cars included Campagnolo wheels (15 x 8 inches at the front and 15 x 10 inches at the rear), adjustable Koni shocks, racing brakes and special safety equipment required at the time: plexi-glass windows with cutouts, a roll bar, fire extinguisher and racing bucket seats. The engine modifications included a reinforced camshaft, a 10-litre oil pan and a Holley racing 4 barrel carburetor. Displacement of

1140-494: The Group 3 class racing rules between 1972 and 1984 based on the Pantera GTS. 30 cars were built for private customer teams. Group 3 rules were very strict and allowed little modifications to the original road going production cars. Earlier Group 3 cars are infamously called "push button" chassis cars as they were built by hand because De Tomaso did not have a proper assembly line when the Pantera began production. Special equipment of

1197-600: The IMSA GTX and Group 5 class respectively. The first car having chassis number #001 was constructed from a new chassis by Italian racing team Sala and Marveti. The second car, having chassis number #1603 was a Group 4 car campaigned by Hugh Kleinpeter in the US and then underwent modification. Afterwards, the former was converted to Group C class specifications in 1983 and the latter was converted to IMSA GTP class specifications respectively. Both cars were uncompetitive in their categories. Italian car manufacturer Ares Design introduced

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1254-535: The New York Auto Show were replaced by more conventional body-hugging sports seats in the production cars: leg-room was generous but the pedals were off-set and headroom was insufficient for drivers above approximately 6 ft (1.83 m) tall. Reflecting its makers' transatlantic ambitions, the Pantera came with an abundance of standard features which appeared exotic in Europe, such as electric windows, air conditioning and even "doors that buzz when ... open". By

1311-599: The Pantera Owners Club of America (POCA) late model (9000 series) registrar has shown that fewer than 197 GT5 Pantera models were likely to have been built. The GT5-S featured single piece flared steel fenders instead of the GT5's bolted-on fiberglass flares, and a smaller steel front air dam. The 'S' in the GT5-S name stood for "steel". Otherwise the GT5-S was largely identical to the GT5. The POCA 9000 series registrar's VIN analysis indicates that fewer than 183 GT5-S Panteras were built. Concurrent GTS production continued, on

1368-409: The Pantera for the American market to be sold through its Lincoln - Mercury dealers. The first 75 cars were simply European imports and are known for their "push-button" door handles and hand-built Carrozzeria Vignale bodies. A total of 1,007 cars reached the United States that year. As with most Italian cars of the day, rust-proofing was minimal and the quality of fit and finish on these early models

1425-502: The Pantera was finally phased out in 1993 to make way for the radical Guarà . Out of the 41 cars made, two were used for crash testing, and one was reserved for the De Tomaso museum. As such, only 38 were sold to the public, of which four were converted to Targas by Pavesi . In the UK, the model was sold as Pantera 90. De Tomaso offered a Pantera competition car built to special order according to

1482-577: The Project1 in 2019 as a modern reinterpretation of the Pantera, based on the Lamborghini Huracán chassis. Carrozzeria Ghia Carrozzeria Ghia SpA (established 1916 in Turin ) is an Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firm, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as "Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio". The headquarters are located at Corso Guglielmo Marconi, 4, Turin . The company

1539-513: The United States, with several grey market cars being imported and many of the performance parts being offered. In the first half of 1974 a US version of the Pantera GTS was introduced, with the first 40 cars only being available in California. This model featured GTS badging and matte black sections as well as a special steering wheel and an electric clock, but not the higher compression engine nor

1596-505: The ZF transaxle is the Maserati Bora , also launched in 1971 although not then available for sale. Power-assisted four-wheel disc brakes and rack and pinion steering were all standard equipment on the Pantera. The 1971 Pantera could accelerate to 97 km/h (60 mph) in 5.5 seconds according to Car and Driver . In the spring of 1972, De Tomaso introduced the more sporting GTS model for

1653-513: The car in ever-escalating forms of performance and luxury for almost two decades for sale in the rest of the world. A small number of cars were imported to the US by gray market importers in the 1980s, notably Panteramerica and AmeriSport. After 1974, Ford discontinued the Cleveland 351 engine, but production continued in Australia until 1982. De Tomaso started sourcing their engines from Australia once

1710-632: The car was the rigidity of its chassis. Nevertheless, the car continued to compete in Group 4 and the engine problem was addressed by sourcing replacement engines with a lower compression ratio. A total of 14 Group 4 cars were made. Some Group 3 cars were modified to Group 4 specifications by privateers. The Group 5 Pantera race cars were converted by private racing teams from Group 4 and Group 3 cars and competed in Group 5 class racing from 1976 to 1981. The Group 5 cars only had wider body panels and no significant design, mechanical and chassis modifications. However, two cars were extensively modified to compete in

1767-470: The car's parts and systems came from the Plymouth Barracuda that the earliest cars came with a Barracuda manual with some pages crossed out. The 450 SS used the same design language as the smaller G230 S, but its hand beaten steel panels sat on a more traditional and sturdier ladder frame. Unlike the smaller car, the 450 SS was a 2+2 design, offering vestigial rear seat accommodation. It

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1824-413: The chassis where possible in order to reduce weight. The car had no front or rear bumpers and a front deep chin spoiler. It also had no rustproofing or interior amenities. The interior was fitted with a cut-off switch instead of a radio, light weight cloth bucket racing seats, a vinyl trim, a roll-cage and drilled aluminium pedals. The final car had a weight of 1,100 kg (2,425 lb). Ford, providing

1881-660: The company's Naples -born chief engineer and designer Luigi Segre, Boano left the company in 1953 and ownership passed to Segre in 1954. Under the ownership of Luigi Segre , between 1953 and 1957, Giovanni Savonuzzi became Direttore Tecnico Progettazione e Produzione Carrozzerie e Stile and established Ghia as the most influential proponent of that Italian styling that came to define automobile design trends worldwide. The decade between 1953 and 1963 saw many foreign firms ordering Ghia designs, such as Volkswagen (the Karmann Ghia ) and Volvo. Chrysler and its designer Virgil Exner became

1938-540: The company's products even greater exclusivity than those of the other Italian coachbuilders. In June 1953, Pierre Lefaucheux , Renault 's chairman, requested Carrozzeria Ghia assistance with the Renault Dauphine . In 1953, Boano left for Fiat, the factory moved to via Agostino da Montefeltro, and Luigi Segre took over. Ghia then brought in Pietro Frua , appointing Frua as head of Ghia Design (1957–60), designing

1995-623: The creation of this car, but after his sudden and untimely death the G230 ;S never entered production. However, in 1965 film and television producer Burt Sugarman saw a picture of the G230 S on the cover of Road & Track magazine and convinced Ghia to build another car using a similar design. The result was the Ghia 450 SS , continuing Ghia's collaboration with Chrysler by using that company's recently introduced 273-cubic-inch (4.5 L) "LA" V8 engine with 235 hp (175 kW). So many of

2052-427: The distance from the crank pins to the nearest bearings. Most engines have at least two main bearings— one at each end of the crankshaft. Additional bearings may be located along the crankshaft, sometimes as many as one bearing per crank pin , as used on many modern diesel engines and petrol engines designed for high RPM. Some small single-cylinder engines have only one main bearing, in which case it must withstand

2109-459: The engine was also enlarged to 5.8-litres. The engine had a power output of 336 PS (247 kW; 331 hp). The engine was mated to a 5-speed close ratio gearbox with a heavy duty single plate clutch and a limited slip differential. It was reported that with the long ratio gears, the Group 3 cars could achieve a top speed up to 280 km/h (174 mph). The Group 3 cars were so competitive that this prompted Porsche to speed up development of

2166-440: The forces produced by the operation of the engine. Main bearings are usually plain bearings or journal bearings , held in place by the engine block and bearing caps . The number of main bearings is primarily determined by the overall load factor and maximum engine speed. Increasing the number of bearings in an engine will generally increase the size and cost of the engine, but also reduces bending stress and deflection caused by

2223-547: The front and the rear seats consist of separate buckets. At the 1963 Turin Show , Ghia showed the Fiat 2300 -based Ghia G230 S. Unlike the Fiat 2300 Coupé, also designed and bodied by Ghia, the two-seater G230S was built on a tubular spaceframe which was designed and built by specialists Gilco. Four examples were built, two coupés and two convertibles. Ghia's owner Luigi Segre had pushed for

2280-565: The luxury trim level of its European models for many years (below). After the Dual-Ghia project had ended, the more up-to-date Ghia L6.4 appeared in 1961. Fewer Mopar parts were used, but the car's bespoke nature meant an astronomically high price and when production ended in 1963 only 25 (or 26) cars had been built. The car's 6,277 cc (383 cu in) Chrysler V8 has 340 hp (254 kW) SAE, and suspension and transmission parts were also hand-picked from Chrysler's production line. Both

2337-476: The main bearings are typically held in place by 'bearing caps' which are secured to the engine block using bolts. The basic arrangement is for each bearing cap to have two bolts, but some engines may have four or six bolts per bearing cap (often referred to as "four-bolt mains" or "six-bolt mains" engines). The additional bolts result in increased strength, allowing the engine to withstand higher power output or RPM. The first car engine to use four-bolt main bearings

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2394-538: The more powerful 911 Carrera RS and Carrera RSR race cars. The use of racing brakes for the Pantera Group 3 was not allowed until 1975 and the car competed with the brakes of the road legal Pantera which proved to be its weak point. Due to an accident in 1973 at the Charade circuit, reinforced hubs developed by De Tomaso for the Group 3 car were approved in Group 3. After the Pantera had begun production, De Tomaso introduced

2451-456: The next 504 Panteras from 1979 until the end of production. According to De Tomaso the chassis was completely revised in around 1980, skipping ahead from 7554 to chassis number 9000 (although most sources state that 9000-series cars were made by Maggiora from June 1976, while Embo-bodied cars started over again from 9100). From May 1980, the lineup included the GT5, which had bonded and riveted-on fibreglass wheelarch extensions and from November 1984

2508-499: The one used in the Ford GT40 was used. The engine had a claimed power output of 507 PS (373 kW; 500 hp), although the cars ran at a power output of 446 PS (328 kW; 440 hp) at 7,000 rpm, which was increased to 477 PS (351 kW; 470 hp) when the Weber 850 CFM carburetors were used. The engine was mated to a ZF 5-speed close ratio manual transmission with

2565-417: The problems and issues the earlier cars experienced. It was so improved that the 1973 DeTomaso Pantera was Road Test Magazine's Import car of the year beating offerings from Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, and Porsche. During 1973 the dashboard was changed, deviating from two separate pods for the gauges to a unified unit with the dials angled towards the driver. The European GTS model had sparked interest in

2622-550: The rest of Europe, the Ghia trim was discontinued as well. Starting in 2013, the Vignale branding started being used by Ford to designate the top trim levels. The Ghia studios has produced various concept cars under the Ford banner. Main bearing#4-bolt A main bearing is a bearing in a piston engine which holds the crankshaft in place and allows it to rotate within the engine block . The number of main bearings per engine varies between engines, often in accordance with

2679-422: The time the Pantera reached production stage, the interior was in most respects well sorted, although resting an arm on the central console could lead to inadvertently activating the poorly located cigarette lighter. The first 1971 Pantera models were powered by a 5.8 L (351 cu in) Ford Cleveland V8 engine having a power output of 335 PS (246 kW; 330 hp). The high torque provided by

2736-523: The top of the range. In the British market, however, the practice of using the Ghia name in such a capacity was finally phased out in 2010. The Titanium name has instead replaced Ghia as the flagship trim level, and is now used globally across all of Ford's markets to denote the top trim level. The British Ford Fiesta retained the Ghia trim designation for the longest period of any model: 31 years 8 months, uninterrupted, from February 1977 to November 2008. In

2793-472: The track and make room for wider Campagnolo wheels and tyres. Bigger ventilated brakes supplied by Girling and a quick ratio steering rack were used to refine handling and stopping power. The standard steel body shell of the Pantera also received modifications such as aluminium doors, front lid and engine cover along with flared fibre glass wheel arches in order to accommodate the wide wheels and tyres. Plexi glass windows were used throughout and holes were cut into

2850-570: The use of a factory exhaust header . The "Lusso" (luxury) Pantera L was also introduced in August 1972 as a 1972 1 ⁄ 2 model. For the US market, it featured a large black single front bumper that incorporated a built-in airfoil to reduce front end lift at high speeds, rather than the separate bumperettes still used abroad, as well as the Cleveland engine then having a power output of 264 hp (197 kW) at 5400 rpm. The "L" model featured many factory upgrades and updates that fixed most of

2907-407: The wheels or other performance modifications of its European counterpart. Because of the legal acrimony between De Tomaso and Ford, these cars were sold with all De Tomaso badging removed. The wheels received "GTS" badges while the badge on the front bumper was replaced with the Ghia logo. Ford stopped importing the Pantera to the US in 1975, having sold around 5,500 cars. De Tomaso continued to build

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2964-524: The world wars, Ghia designed special bodies for Alfa Romeo , Fiat , and Lancia , one of the most famous was the Fiat 508 Balilla sports coupe (1933). The factory was rebuilt at Via Tomassi Grossi, after being demolished in an air raid during World War II (1943). After Ghia's death (1944), the company was sold to Mario Boano and Giorgio Alberti. The Ghia-Aigle subsidiary was established in Aigle , Switzerland (1948). Following differences between Boano and

3021-436: Was fitted with bespoke aluminium heads, TRW forged pistons, large capacity oil pans and titanium valves. Initially, a single Holley Racing 1150 CFM four barrel carburetor was fitted but this was replaced by four Weber carburetors and a revised intake. The engine had a higher compression ratio of 12.0:1. Displacement of the racing engine was unchanged from road going Pantera's engine. The "spaghetti" styled exhaust system similar to

3078-490: Was improved by the addition of four-wheel ventilated and drilled disc brakes with Brembo calipers that were shared with the Ferrari F40 . The Pantera received new styling penned by Marcello Gandini , suspension redesign and a partial chassis redesign. The new model was called the Pantera 90 Si and it was introduced in 1990. The taillights came from the facelifted, first series Alfa Romeo 33 . Only 41 90 Si models were made before

3135-570: Was only built as a two-door roadster, with a standard hardtop included. Over the years, many have credited Giorgetto Giugiaro with this design, but he only left Bertone for Ghia in late 1965 – too late to have much impact on the 450 SS, which was actually designed by Sergio Sartorelli . Giugiaro did revise the grille, front bumper, and rear before the car was presented. Presented at Turin in 1966, 57 examples were built until late 1967 (with late examples registered as model year 1968), although various sources state numbers as low as 52. From 1973,

3192-478: Was poor with large amounts of body solder being used to cover body panel flaws. Subsequently, Ford increased their involvement in the production of the later cars with the introduction of precision stampings for body panels which resulted in improved overall quality. Several modifications were made to the Pantera for the 1972 model year. A new 5.8 L (351 cu in) four-bolt main Cleveland Engine ,

3249-450: Was used with lower compression ratio (from 11:1 to 8.6:1, chiefly to meet US emissions standards and run on lower octane standard fuel) but with the more aggressive "Cobra Jet" camshaft (featuring the same lift and duration as the 428 Cobra Jet 's factory performance cam) in an effort to reclaim some of the power lost through the reduction in compression ratio along with a dual point distributor. Many other engine changes were made, including

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