De Tomaso returns with ‘P72’
At last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Brabham stole the spotlight with the dynamic reveal of the BT62 on the event’s world-famous hillclimb course.
At this year’s Festival, it was the turn of De Tomaso to make a similar impact, announcing the nameplate’s return - 60 years after it was founded - and unveiling a ‘P72’ prototype that will be produced as a special limited edition.
New Hong Kong Heart
Best known for their Ford-engined Pantera, DeTomaso was founded by Alejandro De Tomaso in 1959.
Starting out building competition sports cars, De Tomaso’s first road car was the Vallelunga in 1963. That was followed by the Mangusta (1966), Deauville (1971), Pantera (1971 - and in production until 1993) and Longchamp (1972).
More than just a carmaker, De Tomaso was involved in F1 development for a period, owned Italian carrozzeria Ghia, as well as Maserati (for almost two decades from 1975), Innocenti and Moto Guzzi, and even collaborated with Daihatsu on making tubocharged Charades.
De Tomaso’s carmaking operations came to an end in 2004, shortly after the death of its founder and the release of the Guara model. Since then, there have been several attempts to reincarnate the brand, one of which was launched by a former Fiat executive in 2009 with bold plans to have a performance coupe, sedan and SUV on the market. That venture collapsed in 2012.
More recently, Italian carrozzeria Ares Design unveiled a “Pantera Progettouno” styled in homage to De Tomaso’s original Pantera, but based on the platform and running gear of a current Lamborghini Huracan.
This newest De Tomaso revival comes from Ideal Team Venture (ITV), who bought the De Tomaso name and assets in 2015. Based in Hong Kong, ITV also bought failed German hypercar builder Gumpert in 2014, reinventing their Apollo model as the Apollo Intensa Emozione (IE). Powered by a naturally-aspirated 6.3-litre V12 engine producing 580kW, 760Nm and a top speed in excess of 300km/h, the Apollo IE was one of the star attractions at last year’s Festival of Speed.
Modern Tech, Retro Style
While there’s been speculation over the drivetrain in the mid-engined P72 (everything from the Apollo IE’s 6.3 V12 to a highly-tuned Ford Coyote 5.0 V8), ITV are yet to reveal the P72’s running gear.
What has been confirmed from a look inside the car on display at Goodwood is that the P72 will feature a sequential-shift manual transmission with an old-school gearstick instead of a multi-ratio auto or modern dual clutch transmission with paddle shifters.
ITV described the P72 that was on display - and in action on the hillclimb course at Goodwood - as a prototype, so some elements featured in that car may not make production.
What has been revealed is that the P72 uses the same carbon fibre monocoque platform, built to Le Mans Prototype race regulations, as the Apollo IE. There is no suggestion, however, that the P72 will go racing any time soon, despite being styled and named in honour of a race vehicle from De Tomaso’s past.
While showing clear similarities to the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale and Ferrari’s 330 P3/4 competition sports cars of the 1960s, the styling of the P72 is said to have a more direct link to De Tomaso’s P70 racer that was designed and developed in collaboration with Carroll Shelby in 1964.
Originally to be powered by a 7.0-litre Ford V8 (later substituted for a 5.0-litre V8 to better suit sports racing), the dissolving of the Shelby partnership led De Tomaso to complete the project with Ghia. Under the ‘De Tomaso Sport 5000’ name, the P70 raced only once before it was abandoned.
Inspired by the P70, the design of the P72 is by Jowyn Wong of Wyn Design.
“We intentionally incorporated a distinctive, aerodynamically optimized body for performance, while the classic wing mirrors and front emblem cap pays homage to the P70,” Wong explained.
Standout styling elements include bulbous front and rear wheelarches, five-spoke wheels in a rose gold finish, large circular tail lights and a single exhaust outlet that exits ahead of the rear spoiler.
The distinct retro touches applied to the exterior continue inside, with diamond-quilted leather seats, analogue instrumentation and lots of chrome detailing. Hatching on the seats is replicated on the instrument panel pods that stretch across the dashboard.
The steering wheel is a more modern touch, with carbon fibre applied here that extends to the door cards, centre console and exposed sections of the monocoque tub.
“The interior showcases an elaborate combination of design and exotic materials,” Wong explained. “Polished copper and diamond pattern detailing adorn the cabin, fashioning a true sense of drama and occasion. The classically-designed switchgear and circular analogue display dials take inspiration from the timeless design themes of the ’60s and ’70s.”
Exclusive, Expensive
At Goodwood, De Tomaso confirmed the P72 is going into production soon, but will be limited to just 72 examples. How many of that total have been sold already and when they’re likely to be delivered has not been revealed, but the example on show was in right-hand drive, so Australian delivery is a possibility.
Also unrevealed is the pricing, although overseas reports have mentioned figures in the €750,000 range (AU$1.2 million approx.).
More information on the De Tomaso P72 and the revived company’s future plans are expected to be released later this year.
