De Tomaso is one of the most legendary names in motorsports despite the fact that they haven’t built anything close to a production car in nearly 30 years. Before their downturn, they built the Pantera, which needs no introduction. The brand got its start as a race car manufacturer and even participated in Formula One. This announcement not only harkens back to that incredible history but it points to a potentially bright future. Producing the P72 is the main focus for De Tomaso right now as they aim for customer delivery dates in 2023. To achieve that, they’re not just retooling an old factory but building a brand new one. Procuring a location near the Green Hell is a real score too. That will allow them to test the car just that much more easily.
De Tomaso also announced a new partnership
with Capricorn Group. That name might not be familiar to all automotive
enthusiasts but Formula One fans will know exactly how significant that is.
Capricorn Group has produced parts for high-end motorsports including F1, World
Rally Championship, NASCAR, MotoGP, and more for decades. One of their most
notable contributions was to the Le Mans-winning Porsche 919 LMP1 car. In their
work with De Tomaso, Capricorn will develop a bespoke chassis and suspension
just for the P72.
De Tomaso has received a bit of flak for
using a supercharged Ford Coyote motor in the P72 but this news should quiet
some of those haters. The history of De Tomaso was always made richer by
partnerships with American products. The Pantera famously used a Ford V8. And
the new P72 supercar is based on the P70 racecar which was created in
partnership with Carroll Shelby. While we’d love all the greatest failed
sportscar companies to come back to life, we’re grateful that at least this one
seems to be closer than ever. We can’t wait to see the first pre-production
P72s tearing around the Nurburgring.
