Say De Tomaso and you’ll likely conjure up an image of the Pantera, an Italian designed two-door sports car which was powered – for most of its production run – by an Australian-made Ford V8.
Those days of using relatively common engines are over for De Tomaso, which is bringing V12s back to the fire in its upcoming P900 hypercar, revealing the bespoke engine online.
Developed in collaboration with ItalTechnica, the P900’s 7.0-litre V12 is said to be “configured exclusively for track use”, taking inspiration from the V12s which powered Formula 1 cars up until the mid 1990s.
Banked at 65 degrees – similar to the Ferrari F50, which shared its engine with the brand’s early 1990s F1 cars – De Tomaso claims the complete engine weighs less than 200kg.
“The crankcase is machined from solid billet aluminium for rigidity and weight control. The carbon intake system, supported by billet structures, is engineered as much for sound character as airflow efficiency.
“Forged connecting rods, ultra-light pistons, high compression ratios and immediate throttle response.”
Capable of producing more than 670kW at 9500rpm, the 7.0-litre V12 eventually hits the rev limiter at an ear-splitting 10,200rpm.
According to the brand, “the platform is presently dedicated to track application, [but] the broader potential of this architecture remains open. The question of a road-going evolution remains one of timing.”
After first revealing the P900 in 2023, De Tomaso says it’ll reveal more details about the hypercar later this year.
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