De Tomaso P72 debuts at Goodwood with stunning retro style
The brand is under stewardship of the same group that now runs Apollo.
2019 marks the 60th anniversary of De Tomaso's founding. Created by Alejandro de Tomaso, the sports car manufacturer built some gorgeous sports cars, including the Pantera that you're likely most familiar with. The company went into liquidation in 2004, and after some shuffling, it was eventually purchased by the Hong Kong-based Ideal Team Ventures, and now, it's back with its first new car in decades.
De Tomaso on Thursday unveiled the P72, an absolute stunner of a limited-edition sports car. It carries a number of vintage elements, from the prototype-like curves of its body panels to the honest-to-goodness manual transmission. Yet, despite those throwbacks, this car is thoroughly modern, from its underpinnings to the interior that has to be seen to be believed.
It all starts with a carbon fiber chassis similar to the one from the Apollo Intensa Emozione, another automaker under Ideal Team Ventures' umbrella. It's wrapped in a body that throws it back to the Le Mans cars of the 1960s, with louvres, curves and diffusers galore. De Tomaso claims the chassis is built to FIA Le Mans Prototype specifications, so in a perfect world, this might form the basis for an entry in the FIA's upcoming hypercar class.
And then there's the interior. This cockpit has shades of Pagani in the sense that everything seems way too intricate and expensive. Quilted leather contrasts against exposed carbon fiber. The manual transmission has exposed linkages. The pedal box is floor-mounted. The gauges look like they are hatching from golden Faberge eggs. It's all wild.
Interestingly enough, we don't know much about the powertrain, aside from its stick shift. De Tomaso didn't say what was under the engine cover behind the seats. Given its analog nature, I'd be inclined to wager that it's more likely a proper V8 than some sort of electrified setup.
It'll be exclusive as hell, as the P72's name hints at how many the automaker will build -- just six dozen. Each will command a price around £662,000 (about $833,000), and De Tomaso is likely to scoop up more than a few orders at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, so if this up your alley, cash in those stocks and book a flight to England posthaste.
