De Tomaso’s Mangusta was only the second product to come to production after the company was formed. It succeeded the Ford Cortina-powered Vallelunga, and set the stage for De Tomaso’s one major hit, the Pantera. The Mangusta was a strange little beast: fitted with either the 289 Hi-Po or the 302 from Ford in a rear-mounted configuration that became one of DeTomaso’s calling cards, the car itself was a low-slung, cramped creature with a body designed by Giugiaro during his tenure at the famed coach builder Ghia, and it sported rear bodywork that opened up gull-wing style instead of the more traditional clamshell, like a Ford GT. Between 1967 and 1971, 401 Mangustas were cranked out of the Modena plant and it’s believed that about half of them remain on the planet. Hmm…low-production Italian performance car that is extremely rare. What better way to let the public enjoy it than with a hill climb! That small-block Ford sound echoing is the music that the hills are alive with…just listen to that beautiful song!
Could you hear the cries of terror from young children as that beautiful monster roared past them?
Such sweet fear and an engine note form the bowels of the Underworld!
Sounds great!
I’m thinking that car may be running 180 degree headers??
Flat crank?
Art. Pure art.
Pure sex on wheels. This or a Lamborghini Miura are on my lottery winnings shopping list.