[DeTomaso] megabucks

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

There was a small article about that car in the POCA newsletter back in about 
1989.   It was rather short on detail, but the car was being built as a pure 
exercise in spending money.   At the time the article was written, I believe 
almost a million dollars (!) had been invested already.

How do you possibly spend a million dollars on a Pantera, in 1989?   Well, to 
give an example, the entire exhaust system was hand-fabricated out of 
Inconel.   Inconel is a super-duper alloy that is used in extreme high-temperature 
applications, such as the exhaust cones on the space shuttle.   Way, way, way 
overkill for a normal automobile exhaust system, but this guy wanted it, so 
$100,000 later, he had his exhaust system.

The whole car was built like that.   Evidently the owner fell on hard times 
because in the early 90s the car was offered up for sale in the POCA 
newsletter; the ad said that over $1 million was invested and he was looking for the 
best offer.   I'd be surprised if he even got 10% of his investment back when he 
sold it.

I never saw the car but reportedly it really was an amazing thing--although 
its appearance was fairly stock.

Mike


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