While Brian is mostly afraid of anything that looks like a sports car, hence his crazy fear of the Delorean, I do like the smooth lines of a Countach or Ferrari. But the one little sports car that has always gotten me fired up is the Pantera. After all, it has all the looks of an Italian super car, but with good old American power. Mind you it’s the wrong power, but at least it’s a Cleveland. After all, most Ford guys hate that engine, which actually makes me like it more. But I digress.

I’ve always had a Pantera on my list of “will someday own” cars, and have always said I would put an all aluminum Big Block Chevrolet in it just to piss of the Ford dudes. Well, I think I’ve changed my mind. You see, at this year’s SEMA Show the Ring Brothers are going to be debuting a couple of really bitchin cars. One happens to be an incredibly sexy Pantera, that happens to be powered by one incredibly sexy 600 horsepower Wegner LS3 Chevrolet. Oh yeah. The only thing it’s missing to us is a 1 in front of the 600, but we can take care of that with a nice pair of 76 mm turbos. Teeee heeeee heeeeee.

The Pantera was designed in collaboration with the Nike Innovation Skunk Works Design Team, and has the typical Ring Brothers detail we are sure. But don’t fret Ford dudes! The Ring Brothers are also unveiling the Blizzard ’65 Ford Mustang and it’s got the right Blue Oval powerplant under the hood thanks to 710 horsepower in the form of a NASCAR Sprint Cup engine. Oh yeah!

We’ll be there getting the dirt when they drop the curtain on both of these bad boys and will give you our honest assessment. It should be a riot.

CHECK OUT THE RENDERINGS AND MORE DETAILS BELOW

Spring Green, WI (October, 2013) – The De Tomaso Pantera created quite a stir when it made its public debut at the New York Motor Show in 1970.  Combining Italian styling with American horsepower, the Pantera was both beautiful to look at and blindingly fast on the road.  Now, custom vehicle builder and billet parts manufacturer, Ringbrothers, is poised to once again capture the attention of car enthusiasts worldwide with the 2013 SEMA Show debut of ADRNLN – a re-imagined take on the Pantera designed in collaboration with Nike’s innovation skunk works team.

At the heart of the beast lies a Wegner Motorsports LS3 pumping out a healthy 600-horsepower through a ZF five-speed gearbox from Bowler Performance Transmissions with a B&M shifter handling the gear changes.  The Pantera’s signature roar is created by a pair of Flowmaster stainless steel mufflers while Royal Purple synthetic oils keep everything running smoothly.  Putting all that power to the ground is the job of a set of HRE forged wheels shod in Nitto tires with stopping power produced by Baer six-piston calipers at each corner.  Subtle design cues like small wheel flairs and custom rocker panels with brake cooling ducts adorn the Pantera’s steel monocoque body which is finished off in BASF’s Glasurit 90-Line paint system to deliver the signature Ringbrothers look.  Finally, the engine bay gets some added accenting courtesy of products from Hose Candy.  But ADRNLN’s story goes deeper than its combination of parts and hand-crafted metalwork.

When Mike and Jim Ring first laid eyes on this particular 1971 Pantera, it was in rough shape.  The car belonged to Randy Brickle who was diagnosed with cancer and passed away before the shop working on his beloved De Tomaso could finish the project.  After Randy’s passing, his wife Cheryl was determined to build the car her husband had always dreamt of.  In search of a shop worthy of making her late husband’s dream a reality, Cheryl was referred by a friend to Ringbrothers.

A chance meeting with Nike’s innovation skunk works design team brought a new direction to the project.  Members of the Nike’s design team first met the brothers at the 2012 SEMA Show where they were quickly impressed with Mike and Jim’s level of craftsmanship, handle on materials manipulation, and keen eye for modern product aesthetics.  After a trip to the Ringbrothers shop, the Nike’s team of innovators collaborated with the team at Ringbrothers to bring the car to life with an overall design that told the story of the Pantera through its current owner Cheryl and her late husband Randy.  Thinking outside of the box, the team of Nike innovators worked with Ringbrothers to design an interior that presented individualized color and material experiences unique to driver and passenger – the driver’s highlighting performance fit and luxury excellence and the passenger’s emphasizing confident simplicity and superior comfort.

ADRNLN will make its official debut at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5^th, 2013 in the Royal Purple booth (#23713 in the Central Hall) at the 2013 SEMA Show and will be on display from November 5-8, 2013.