De Tomaso to return?

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Paulie

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Every once in a while you hear of an old car maker that might be returning to business some time soon, and most of the time it's a very little known company you've never heard of and never did anything significant, but today it seems like De Tomaso could be coming back in the future.
Article Sourced From Autoblog via alovlante.it

For those who may not have noticed, Italy is ready to get a new automaker... back. The name's De Tomaso, and if you're up on your car history, you'll recognize it as the father of classics such as the Pantera and Mangusta. But after lying dormant for decades, the company has been rescued by Italian automotive industrialist Gian Mario Rossignolo. Under his direction, De Tomaso is expected to launch a new lineup. It's the dawn of a new era for the brand, and it has launched a new logo for its bright new future.

Replacing the old badge with the abstract T (far left) is a new icon (far right) that more clearly encompasses the D and the T in a more modern, muscular shape. It's the work of branding guru Peter Arnell, who recently took up the position of Chief Innovation Officer for the resurgent automaker. We're looking forward to seeing what it'll eventually adorn, with sources tipping a sports car, a luxury sedan, a sport 'ute, and most recently, a Mini rival. Whatever it is, expect a new De Tomaso to be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.
Click to expand...

This could be awesome if you ask me, and naturally the thing that catches my eye is the sport Ute (and the fact the Americans called it a Ute in their news article! :lol:). A De Tomaso Ute to challenge the Maloo and F6 Utes from Australia? Seems a little far fetched, but would be interesting to see none the less.
 
This sounds interesting! Good find Paulie 👍 I really do hope they make a good lineup and dont end up butchering the name and image that belong to De Tomaso already... :)
 
Interesting news, as I really love this brand, not sure why they felt the need to redesign the already perfect looking logo though as it seems the only clear link with the past.
I think the word Ute is referring to Sports Utility Vehicle ( SUV ) though and I hope they will succeed in this rather ambitious ( full line-up ) plan if they produce some great-looking cars again ( the last car to wear the DeTomaso badge is best left forgotten ).
Couple of years ago the German designer Stefan Schulze created this Panthera concept as an hommage to the original Pantera.

2007-De-Tomaso-Panthera-Concept-top.jpg


2007-De-Tomaso-Panthera-Concept-rear.jpg


And about that Mini-rival, DeTomaso did own the Innocenti brand which made an Italian-build Mini which was rebodied in the seventies with a Bertone designed more square-looking body.
The high-performance version was called Innocenti DeTomaso.

Pub%20-%20Innocenti%20De%20Tomaso%20-%201979%20(Medium).jpg
 
I remember that the De Tomaso Panthera was one of the first car reviews I have ever read. Loved the car ever since.

Found this:

De Tomaso Modena SpA is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentinian-born Alejandro de Tomaso (1928–2003) in Modena in 1959. The company went into liquidation in 2004[1]despite this, new cars were still being made by De Tomaso as of 2005.[2] Originally, De Tomaso produced various prototypes and racing cars, including a Formula 1 car for Frank Williams's team in 1970.
Produkter
De Tomaso Sivax
Price: 149.000€

http://www.eternitywarriors.com/cyberpunk/corps/De_Tomaso_Sivax.jpg

De Tomaso Sovereign
Price: 175.000€

http://www.eternitywarriors.com/cyberpunk/corps/De_Tomaso_Sovereign,_exibition.jpg
edit
and this: De Tomaso Mangusto.
de_tomaso_mangusto.jpg
 
Last edited:
Vince_Fiero, only the last car ( Mangusta ) is a DeTomaso, the other cars are from different manufacturers ( first picture is a Sivax and the second one the Invicta GT ).
I saw the site where you got these images ( and where they are shown as DeTomaso ) but this isn't correct.
 
That last car actually became a Qvale. The original concept was the DeTomaso Bigua, but Qvale took over production rights.
 
Isnt the 2nd last Silver car an Invicta S1? The firm well known for tailoring your car to your needs.
 
Only the last picture Vince_Fiero posted is a real DeTomaso ( and not a very pretty one ), the other cars aren't.
To say they are united by being ugly can therefore be misleading as those pictures don't do justice ( they're false so please Vince remove the first 2 ) to DeTomaso as a brand.
Here's some examples of the cars they did produce....

49_mangusta_1_1.jpg


detomaso_pantera-gts_02.jpg


car_photo_340015_25.jpg
 
If I recall correctly, the Mangusta had a terrible weight distribution 38/62 which completely screwed the handling, despite of being a great looking USA powered italian stallion, the Pantera GTS was a new approach to DeTomaso engineering dept, it was a fantastic car and I saw one (One of the four units around here) in the flesh a couple of years ago, it was just delightful to hear that thing screaming.

Mangusta? Cool
Pantera? Sub-Zero
 
One car which owes its exsistance to De Tomaso, the MG XPower SV. Was a decient effort if the company wasnt crumbling down around it! I could see the rebirth of De Tomaso doing something similar.

A32895_b.jpg
 
I agree in hoping that a De Tomaso return would involve the same styling success of the early De Tomaso days, like the Mangusta and Pantera.👍
 
aaaaah how I sooooooooooooo wish this is true in the better sense of the word. In the past some companis of which I'm very fond of have been "resurrected" only to be absolute failures (Isotta Fraschini comes to mind, or that Voisin abbomination). If De Tomaso really makes a Bugatti-successful return I'll be one happy bloke. The Pantera has always been one of my favorite supercars back from the era when supercars did not seem to be lame to me. That concept illustration above is stunning. Yes I'd be happy to see a new Pantera looking like that, altough I'd also like a new, fresh design that borrows from past glorys.

Adding along, here is another De Tomaso not many people know about, but I find it frighteningly awesome. It's called a Longchamp. Basically, take a cool shoebox 80's gran turismo, put away the typical small multi-cam, multi-valve euro V8 and cram in a bucketload of prepped small-block Ford Cleveland (340 hp more or less), give it propper rear tires to handle the torque and an interior that smells like the death of a thowsand cows, and you can't go wrong. I't a muscle grand tourer.

49_unutulan_forgotten_arabalar_oto_23_1.jpg


dtrlong3113b.jpg


the above car was based on a shortened Deauville chassis, these two being the only two front engined De Tomasos ever built:
800px-Deauville2124.jpg


Wikipedia on both:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Tomaso_Longchamp

Also, for the record, There was a modernized version of the Pantera called the 90 SI, which included udgraded bodywork by Marcelo Gandini and a EFI 5.0 Mustang engine with 300 hp. A fistful of these were made, which is a shame, as I think they look downright awesome.
3748522839_8df587168d_o.jpg

De%20Tomaso%20Pantera%20SI%20P2%202.jpg


Info page on these things:
http://www.qv500.com/detomasopanterasip1.php

Let's hope, let's hope... and thanks Vince for directing me over here!!! You sure seem to know I love these things, haha
 
Cano
49_unutulan_forgotten_arabalar_oto_23_1.jpg


dtrlong3113b.jpg


the above car was based on a shortened Deauville chassis, these two being the only two front engined De Tomasos ever built:
Click to expand...

Where was I when this was happening and why was I not informed?!?

That car looks epic.
 
Cool, I would love to see De Tomaso return!

Speaking of De Tomaso, I saw this Pantera last Saturday while car spotting:

DSC01972.jpg
 
Paulie
15yrs is a long time to make plenty of kick-arse cars.;)
Click to expand...

I hate to ruin it for you but they'll just end up being a Lotus clone. So yet another low-comfort, go-fast waif of a car. Except these will be poorly built and Italian, so presumably rather greasy as a factory feature.
 
TopHat
I hate to ruin it for you but they'll just end up being a Lotus clone. So yet another low-comfort, go-fast waif of a car. Except these will be poorly built and Italian, so presumably rather greasy as a factory feature.
Click to expand...

:odd: I've seen you be nothing but negative posting all over these forums lately, but a low-comfort go fast car is my ideal kind of car anyway.
 
How is this going to work, anyways? I was always under the assumption that De Tamaso the car company basically was De Tamaso the man.
 
Toronado
How is this going to work, anyways? I was always under the assumption that De Tamaso the car company basically was De Tamaso the man.
Click to expand...

It's De Tomaso not De Tamaso ;) and I'll guess it will work in the same way as Ferrari without Enzo, Lamborghini without Ferruccio or, perhaps more accurate when being away for a long time, Bugatti without Ettore.
But discarding the original badge isn't something I would've chosen to do as it's the only clear link with past and present.
 
analog
I'll guess it will work in the same way as Ferrari without Enzo, Lamborghini without Ferruccio or, perhaps more accurate when being away for a long time, Bugatti without Ettore.
Click to expand...
That's the only example that is the same thing as this situation, and not because the company was gone for a long time. And both times that company was revived it was in name only.
 
Toronado
That's the only example that is the same thing as this situation, and not because the company was gone for a long time. And both times that company was revived it was in name only.
Click to expand...

Well Spyker and Maybach ( and countless other fruitless attempts ) also have achieved a "revival" of a long lost brand name ( although I really dislike the Maybach styling it's closer in spirit to the original cars than Spyker ).
As much as I love the older De Tomaso cars, you wouldn't really need the input of Alejandro De Tomaso to create new cars with somewhat the same formula ( and appeal ) as it isn't exactly rocket science to be honest.
It's basically the tried and tested "hybrid-GT" method of putting a mass-produced American V8 engine into a bespoke luxurious or performance orientated European design like other makes which started making these types of cars around the same area like Iso, Monteverdi, Jensen and Bristol, etc.
The main difference was that De Tomaso's were mostly mid-engined ( Vallelunga, Mangusta and Pantera ) and for a short while quite succesful compared to those other makes with the Pantera.
 

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