In 1971 Alejandro De Tomaso introduced the Tom Tjaarda designed Pantera as his answer to the wedge shaped, midengined exotic sportscar that was common in the early 1970's. Powered by the Ford Cleveland V8 the Pantera had lots of go to match its impressive looks.

The Panteras which had a two staged production life, 1971-1974 and 1990-1992, was officially imported by Ford through its Lincoln dealership up until 1975. As such Ford viewed the Pantera as an halo vehicle to draw customers into their Lincoln showrooms. The Pantera which was priced at around $10K new was a great bargain then and now since it offered Italian looks and performance with American reliability and running cost.

(Ford 351cc Cleveland V8 good for 310hp)

As with most mid-engined cars, the Pantera offered very little luggage space and in this case there was a "luggage" compartment above the engine.

Unlike other dreamers like DeLoren, De Tomaso was able to deliver the goods and so the Pantera. like other De Tomaso albeit a bit rough around the edges. was a success when considering De Tomaso's limited developmental resources.