Vehicle Description
1986 DeTomaso Pantera GT5-S
In recent years, the DeTomaso Pantera has become a superstar in the
world of supercars. It was never ignored, but since its debut in
1971, it was relegated to a fate of being compared to fully Italian
supercars. The presence of an American V8 and the implied impurity,
(along with some build and heat issues), impacted the values and
desirability for the hybridized Italian-American sports car. Well,
no longer, in the past 30 years, it seems to have grown into
everyone's favorite car and values reflect the demand. There is no
doubt, it is unique, fast, exotic, and oddly patriotic.
For consignment, 1 of the 138 purported cars built between 1985 and
1989 with integrated steel fender flares and a steel chin spoiler
and 1 of about 40 Pantera GT5-S's in the United States after being
imported by renowned Stoeffer in Florida. A molded front spoiler,
black split bumpers, and steel body-widening fender flares set the
GT5-S apart from the regular Pantera, improving on the already
impressive design of Ghia's Tom Tjaarda. This car has been
meticulously maintained during the 22 years of our consignor's
ownership and includes numerous upgrades or new items including air
conditioning, power windows, and an AM/FM/CD radio and everything
else being either new or rebuilt. It has a title verified 59,656
actual miles and is setting our main showroom on fire! Our
consignor notes that the original wheels and brake set up can be
included for an extra cost.
Exterior
As if not loud and animated in shape alone, the red paint pulls
every ray of the sun into this car and lights it up, even before
you fire it up. Every bit of black on the car including vents,
wings, mirrors, and trim look just a little bit blacker against the
red backdrop. Few cars have the presence of a red GT5-S; even a
Countach would have a hard time competing with this car in the Eye
Candy Olympics. The stunning wide fenders give a mean looking car
and even angrier disposition and by angry, we mean fast. The
diminutive door handles are flush mounted and are similar in design
to other Italian greats such as Lancia. The back of the car is the
stuff of boyhood dreams. The flying buttresses leading to a
Lamborghini Countach wing, the wide-set taillights, four upturned
tailpipes, exposed polished suspension components, and those
massive, massive rear tires. The wheels here are custom made
17-inch Billet replicas of Pantera wheels, surrounded by newer
tires. From ten feet, the car is flawless, but our sleuth
photographer was able to locate some imperfections. We note
numerous incidents of chips in the black paint of the window trim,
some paint drips in various locations, scrapes of the chin spoiler,
various paint chips, cracking, and some fiberglass damage near the
decklid.
Interior
Earlier Panteras were relatively sparse and black, but this car
greets you with cushioned Saddle leather that starts on the door
where it is heavily pleated, as if they had too much material to
work with. A laminated burl wood rail runs through the door panel
as contrast. The pillowy leather bucket seats would make the
Stay-Puft marshmallow man envious, more luxurious than performance
oriented. We note just a bit of wear on the seat side where
frictional ingress would take its toll. The hinge and seat hardware
are polished and robust. More padded leather covers the wall behind
the seats where the seat belt anchor bar is situated. The triple
spoke Momo steering wheel contains the DeTomaso logo on the center
cap and it also appears on top of the shifter, in the gauges, and
on the carpeted floor mats. Veglia Borletti gauges are black faced
with light green numbers all fitted in a sculpted piece of glossy
laminated burlwood which in turn is surrounded by saddle and black
leather. Bravissimo! More gauges in the same surrounding are found
in the center stack which also contains numerous toggle switches.
Nearby, we find the heater and AC controls. The engraved plate
around the console mounted shifter includes the gear locations.
From there, the console extends higher to provide an armrest along
with some storage. The low pile back carpet is in good condition,
and we note speakers in the footwell area. The headliner is covered
in smooth black leather and looks fantastico!
Drivetrain
The heart of the beast is a rebuilt 8,000 mile ago circa 1972 351ci
Cleveland V8 with ported and polished Australian heads. A Holley
950cfm4-barrel carburetor sits on top of the Edelbrock high rise
performer intake tofeed the copious amounts of air and fuel to the
mill. The factory rating, or should we say underrating, was 345
horsepower. The engine is sparked by an MSD distributor and power
is transferred to the nearby rear wheels via a ZF 5-speed transaxle
with a CenterForce clutch. GTS tubular headers route the exhaust
rearward where it hits two GTS ANSO mufflers then out four chrome
tips in short order. Our consignor notes dual electric radiator
fans, an 8-quart oil pan, and an engine oil cooler. NASCAR spec
power disc brakes by Wilwood are found at each of the four
wheels.
Undercarriage
Exotic by any standard, the tubular frame has two main supports
that stretch down the middle of the car flanking tubing that runs
the length from the front of the car. The boxed frame may have
kissed the asphalt a few times as evidenced in the back. The chrome
rear sway bar is exposed to followers in this car's "butt up"
posture and a DeTomaso dress up plate gives them something to read.
Everything is clean and dry underneath. Our consignor notes that
the suspension is new, adjustable, and from a Ferrari. Tow hooks
are rather crudely welded to the front of the frame including one
that appears to be a piece of bent rebar. It's the only thing
underneath the car with surface rust.
Drive-Ability
The speedometer goes to 200mph and while we don't have the
initiative or room to test that, just a short jaunt around our test
loop leads us to believe that this car is entirely capable of those
speeds and maybe more. We were warned, "Be aware that you are an
active partner in the driving of this car.". This is not putting
your Town Car into drive while you have one arm out the window and
a finger on the wheel. This is nothing more than a race car
disguised, (and not very well), as a pedestrian car. Needless to
say, acceleration is insane, and handling is pretty good too. Two
minor flaws were noted, the horn doesn't work and the front tires
will rub at full steering lock during low speed maneuvering. The
consignor removed the windshield wipers because they flutter at
speeds over 100mph.
If a Pantera has been on your wishlist, and you're in the fortunate
position to be able to purchase one, here's a rare opportunity to
pick up GT5-S. There seems to be no slowing in the investment
prospects of Panteras and prices have gone up every year. But buy
it because you love it and if this car doesn't stir something in
you, check your pulse. We await your call. Ciao.
THPNDU09399
T-Detomaso
H-Modena, Italy Assy Plant
PN-Pantera
D-1986
U-February Build
09399-Sequential Unit Number
Classic Auto Mall is home to more than 1,000 classic and
collectible vehicles for sale via consignment in a climate
controlled 336,000-square foot showroom (that's more than 8
acres!). The largest single location consignment dealer of classic
and collectible vehicles in the country is located in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, just 1-hour west of Philadelphia off Exit 298 of the
I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. For more information visit
www.classicautomall.com or call us at (888) 227-0914. Cont...for
more information please contact the seller.
