This is perhaps a little far from the topics of this group, but anyway: Anyone have any experience with a 1971 Pantera? Anyone can compare it with a 308? I have a friend who is interesting in buying the Pantera.
I have a few sports cars,& "1" is a 1972 DeTomaso Pantera. I can state without equivocation that "Bang for Buck" the Pantera is UNMATCHED!!!!....you have the BEST of ALL components!!!!....Italian body styling, American muscle, Bulletproof ZF transmisssion....the Pantera would run CIRCLES around a 308...NO comparsion!!!!....Pantera prices are on the rise!!!!....yesterday was a GREAT day to buy a Pantera...PM me if you want additional input......Mark
If you're not hard of hearing, you will be after taking a Pantera on atrip. All kidding aside, I really enjoyed my Pantera. It was a fun car to run around in. Did not handle worth a damn, but fun to "giteron". BTW, my Z06 was 10 tiimes the car, in all categories. However, when all is said and done, it's the 308 that I'm keeping... My suggestion, drive both cars for at least an hour before you make a decision.
I own both and love both... Yes the Pantera will run circles around a 308 but I wouldn't exactly put them in the same class to begin with. If your friend is looking for a Pantera have him sign up for the DeTomaso email list. It is a very active list and there are tons of knowledgable people on there. Here is the link http://list.realbig.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso Scott
I owned both too 71 Pantera and 77 308. At the same time. They are VERY different cars. Panteras are monocoque and flex a lot. 71 are the worst for rust and body cracks. Driving position for long drive are pain in the a.. compared to the 308. Interior of the pantera is cheaper looking too. Mechanical maintnance are very easy with an american engine. Very easy to modified to get CRAZY power. My opinion is that Panteras are fun for short drives. If he likes raw power go with the Pantera. If possible drive both before buying. I kept the 308 and sold the Pantera. But that is just me.....
You gotta have small feet for the Pantera. Pedals are really crammed into a small space. Really fun to have a built 351 Cleveland blasting behind your head. You just stomp on it and grin from ear to ear. However, I prefer the 308 overall. Handling and visibility just are a bit easier for me with the 308. Pantera has almost an exotic Italian muscle car feel for me. And I have to admit, I'm a bit more in favor of American muscle cars in general. Always loved the concept behind the Pantera, but it fell a little short in the execution for me.
I had an early "push button" euro Pantera for about 3 months. Sold it as I did not like it compared to 308's and 911's. There is a yellow 74 Pantera here in Savannah that is / was still on the original MSO, low miles, ect. They may want to sell it. I dont want it.
The Pantera was my absolute dream car. I had a framed glass poster of one that had the motor and transaxle all polished. Back in '99 I considered getting rid of my 308 and buying one. I test drove a couple and spoke with private sellers. One of the private guys was selling his to buy a 308. He shared a lot of details about things that needed attention that reminded me of my 308 (slow windows, poor a/c). The simplicity of the engine is what appealed to me at the time since I'd grown up hot rodding American iron. I never went thru with it and dove into hot rodding my 308. I'd like to drive one again to see what I thought of the handling and brakes now I've got a bit more experience. Brutal acceleration is fun but you can get that cheap if you don't care about stopping or cornering. With the enigne layout I would hope you could dial them in like a 308, especially if you put an aluminum Ford lump back there. I've decided I want one ... anyone want to trade for a 308? I've got a spare. How much do they weigh and how much weight savings for an aluminum lump over cast iron? cheers
I can put you in touch with the owner of this yellow car. i think it has less than 20k original miles. Recently fully serviced. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I love the Pantera and intend on owning one at somepoint. That Cleavland motor is tough as nails and easy to manipulate more power out of. My friend has 2 and is just finishing up putting a new Ford "coyote" engine with 180 deg headers in one of them. Lighter and more powerful excited to see it done.
To me the Pantera looks mean. The 308 looks sexy. I'll take a sexy broad over a mean bitc* anytime! ha
Don't know about this "Pantera runs circles around a 308" stuff. If you are talking about a drag race, then I can see it but the Pantera doesn't handle anything like the 308. When I used to do track events, my stock 308 never lost to a Pantera. They have to be heavily modified to stop and to corner like a 308. But as a lower budget Italian exotic, all things being equal, the Pantera is the real deal. (lower budget in the maintenance department)
this pantera we have is stock with aftermarket headers, its slow. It may break into the 14's with a tail wind. Handling????????? it has a hard time going straight. life is too short, get a real car.
I really like Panteras but the first time I drove one it reminded me of my father's Mach 1 Mustang. I then realized I reminded me of the Mustang because it was; it had the same engine. The Pantera is like a beautiful Italian model with a Brooklyn accent. It seems a bit odd. They are also uncomfortable and don't handle very well. They are not comtempories of the 308. Ford stopped importing Panteras before the Ferrari was developed. I would buy a Pantera but it is not interchangeable with a 308.
Apples and Oranges, my friend. Muscle car vs. a true GT car. The 308 was never designed for straight-line speed. It was intended to be a nimble, quick and exhilarating road car with wonderful handling. All of which it has. IMHO, the joy of a 308 will long outlive that of a Pantera, though I like the Pantera a lot. To me, just on design alone, there is no comparison.
as for all the nay sayers of the pantera's performance heres what phil hill and sterling moss had to say about its performance. but what do these two know about handling right?? http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=163765&highlight=popular+mechanics&page=567
Let me go on record-i love my 308 QV and the only cars I would let it go for are a 365BB, Daytona coupe or a Dino 246. Let me repeat that-I LOVE my 308 but even I would admit a good Pantera is a mighty fine car. I once rode in a 1985 Pantera GT5 (Australian spec) and that went like the proverbial bat out of hell and gripped the road like gum on carpet (and so it should've with 345(13 inch tyres) at the back. When you get a good Pantera, something like post 78 GTS or early eighties GT5, then the handling is brilliant but the early models(chrome bumpers) are very hit and miss, depending whether the previous owners sorted out the suspension with the later Dallara upgrades. I mean, the car is a pukka north-south (longitude) mid engine set up. That means the chassis has a lot of potential for great handling. I agree, the interior can be tight but then again, aren't most mid engine cars. 99% of the time, Im a purist-I don't like be-spoilered cars (so I much prefer a Countach LP400 over a S-spec Countach). However, when it comes to the Pantera, I'll take the GT5 every time over a early chrome-trim Pantera. The superior handling is a bonus. Even in a Motor (former UK mag), John Miles, famed F1 Lotus tester gave the Pantera GT5 a great rap on its handling.
Now look what you've done!!!!!....Bringing FACTS into a discussion!!!....now what are ALL the Pantera detractors gonna do!!???.....some people live in their own bubble...where reality CANNOT ENTER!!!!....Ohhhhhh those "poor people".....Read it & WEEP!!!!....like I stated earlier.....Pantera runs CIRCLES around a 308!!!!.....7 seconds FASTER around the race track!!!...Pantera was also FASTER than the 512 Boxer around the race track...here is a link to the 1981 march issue of Popular Mechanics.....Mark http://books.google.com/books?id=tdgDAAAAMBAJ&q=1981#v=snippet&q=1981&f=false Popular Mechanic's Exotic Cars - Test Results Cars 1/4 mile slalom skidpad Braking Lap Time (sec @ mph) (sec) (cw/ccw s) 70-0 (ft) (min) MPG $USK Points -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pantera GTS 14.949 @ 96.15 8.91 12.59/12.83 166.6 1:55.9 15 60 19 BMW M1 14.657 @ 97.40 8.71 12.46/12.59 181.1 1:54.1 10 115 28 Porsche 928 15.766 @ 88.75 8.98 12.83/13.19 170.1 1:56.8 11 38 36 Lamborghini Countach 14.994 @ 96.25 8.79 12.85/12.79 184.1 1:55.5 7 116 40 Ferrari 512 Boxer 15.002 @ 95.54 9.00 13.26/13.22 129.2 1:57.2 8 100 41 Ferrari 308 GTSi 15.950 @ 87.63 9.49 13.00/13.43 158.5 2:03.0 14 52 45 Porsche 924 Turbo 17.197 @ 78.67 9.19 12.78/12.87 178.1 2:03.4 21 27 46 Duntov Turbo 15.759 @ 89.02 9.21 13.00/13.49 173.1 2:06.3 14 37 48 Manta 15.247 @ 91.18 9.10 13.41/13.54 171.4 2:04.9 16 25 49 Maserati Merak 16.543 @ 85.22 9.12 13.01/13.48 167.5 2:04.1 10 41 53 Lotus Esprit 17.888 @ 76.92 9.38 12.98/13.24 199.9 2:04.7 16 37 63 BMW 633 CSi 16.795 @ 83.17 9.67 13.36/13.74 180.6 2:06.4 19 34 66 Jaguar XJS 16.659 @ 83.25 10.17 13.78/13.80 166.7 2:03.3 9 30 67 DeTomaso Longchamp 16.825 @ 86.62 10.42 13.03/13.32 237.9 2:01.8 12 69 69 Aston Martin Volante 16.859 @ 85.65 9.90 14.16/14.12 176.2 2:02.3 11 98 70 Mercedes Benz 380 SL 18.054 @ 75.18 9.89 13.38/13.34 191.2 2:09.2 18 39 74
Well, it was a GTSi. Interesting that the DeTomaso Longchamps was able to post such a good lap time relative to its weak performance in acceleration, slalom, skidpad, and breaking.
sounds to me like there's a big difference between the old pantera and new panteras, I was surprised to learn that the pantera was in production for quite a few years, here in LA I usually just see the old Panteras, the ones sold by Ford dealers to unsuspecting rich folks in LA. Now that is a car with a bad reputation for sure. had reliability problems, bad handling out of the box, etc. That's the pantera that we remember from the early 70's. the newer ones sound like they are a lot better, but I have never seen one, did not even know they existed. Once the Pantera was separated from the Ford dealers and marketing, I pretty much lost track of it.
What about this new DeTomaso? To me, the 308 is much better car in many ways. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
