[DeTomaso] Prototype For Sale

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/9/07 20:23:39, michaelsavga at gmail.com writes:

<< Speaking of early prototypes, I went through a collection of Playboy
magazines and found a piece on the Pantera in the July 1970 issue, it showed
a car much like the 71 except for two noticeable differences,
there was a piece of metal (body colored) going through/across the radiator
screen up front on the exterior and 2) it had these funky looking
(Tomorrowland at Disney) seats which said that they were an aluminum shell
with 11 ergonomic pads. squint your eyes and it looks like my bumblebee C-4
seats.

>>>If you look closely, the car probably also has three-slot wheels, and 
different side marker lights, and a few other oddities (like a decklid hinged at 
the rear, like a GT40!)

The alternate grille was a feature on a few of the early cars (1006 had it 
for sure).  The seats were a neat idea but never made it into production.  
Interestingly, De Tomaso had already produced many sets of the 'shells' when Ford 
opted for a more conventional seat.  Waste not want not, and those shells were 
later upholstered and they became the now-coveted Gr4 'race' seats, which are 
worth a fortune today.  If you happen to see one of those race seats, turn it 
over and you'll see pairs of holes stamped all the way along the bottom and 
back, which is where the pegs on the rubber/foam blocks would have penetrated.

>What happened to that car ( it was a push button ) and it was of course
Yellow ( as they all should be). >>

>>>Supposedly that car was gifted to Bertocchi (chief engineer at De Tomaso) 
and after he died, it just sat in his garage forever.  Steve Wilkinson told me 
last year that he had finally managed to buy it from his widow, but it's 
still over there.

It was originally a 'pushmobile' but he said the factory later made it a 
runner....

Mike
<BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now offers free 
email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at 
http://www.aol.com.