the original De Tomaso Pantera is being reborn in a modern day
supercar by Ares Design that’s called the Panther Project 1. Apart from the
coupe, they also intend to make an open-top
version, too. The company’s chief, Dany Bahar, told TopGear that the Coupe
“will be ready for deliveries at the end of April, first week of May”, and that
“a few months later, [they] will present the Spyder version”, which will enter
production next year.
Since the current Panther Project 1 is based on the
Lamborghini Huracan, the Spyder will use the open-top version of the Italian
supercar as a foundation, to which it will add the retro-styled body panels and
custom interior. Power will continue to come from the same 5.2-liter naturally
aspirated V10 engine, which pushes out 650 PS and 600 Nm of torque in the Panther.
Due to the obvious weight penalty associated with
body reinforcements, the upcoming Spyder should be tad slower to 100 km/h than the coupe, which does the sprint in 3.1 seconds and has a 325 km/h top speed. Production of both the Panther Coupe and Spyder will be limited to 70
units. Ares Design will build between 12 and 15 cars annually, as their plan is
to expand gradually.
So, what are those “sensational projects” that are
on their way? The company’s head honcho admitted that one of them could be a
track-focused version of the Panther. It could build on the Huracan
Performante, although they’re still “discussing” the idea. Even if they
eventually use the Performante, though, Ares doesn’t intend to chase any lap
records, as its focus is on “the pleasure of driving”.
