We’ve extensively covered on this website Ford CEO Jim Farley’s love of all things automotive, from his amateur racing exploits to the realignment of the Blue Oval’s performance lineup to have an off-road flavour.
The executive is downsizing though, having recently sold his personal 1972 DeTomaso Pantera on US auction site BringATrailer, with the Italian-engineered sports car selling for US$293,000 (A$408,475).
It’s an impressive price for the nearly 55 year old model, though what’s less well known is the Pantera’s less-than-tenuous link to Ford.
Designed by American Tom Tjaarda for Italian firm Ghia, the Pantera launched in 1971 where it was distributed through Ford’s Lincoln-Mercury dealerships in the US, thanks in part to the Pantera featuring a Ford engine.
Behind the driver sat a 5.8-litre (or 351 cubic inch) ‘Cleveland’ V8 engine, made by Ford and already available in a number of the brand’s US vehicles.
The Cleveland engine is best known in Australia for being the powerplant in the Falcon GT from the XW Phase 2 GTHO right up until the post-GT era XEs of the early 1980s.
Ford supplied the Cleveland V8 to DeTomaso for the Pantera from its Ohio engine plant until about 1974, at which point the factory stopped making it. However, DeTomaso continued to source the engine from Australia’s Geelong engine plant until the Down Under version ceased production in 1982.
It’s understood that Farley’s former Pantera was a US-powered example, and was modified with an overboard engine which was fitted with an Edelbrock Performer intake manifold as well as a number of upgrades for more power.
Like all Panteras, it’s fitted with a five-speed manual transaxle, delivering power to the rear wheels, while the driver has to take control of the car with a non-assisted steering rack.
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