CarBrandLogos archive · De Tomaso · 1967

De TomasoMangusta

Named to needle Carroll Shelby, styled by Giugiaro, and hard to see out of.

Photo: joergens.mi · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in De Tomaso history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the De Tomaso Mangusta, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The story behind the name is worth telling. De Tomaso had been working with Carroll Shelby on a racing project that fell apart, and a mongoose is the animal that kills cobras. That was the message, and De Tomaso was not subtle about it.

De Tomaso Mangusta Gruppe 4 GT · Thomas doerfer · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

The car itself came out of that abandoned racing programme: a backbone chassis developed from the stillborn P70 sports-racer, now carrying a Ford V8 — a 289 in early cars, a 302 later — mounted behind the cockpit and driving through a ZF five-speed transaxle. Giorgetto Giugiaro, then at Ghia, drew the body, and it is one of his finest, a low wedge with split gullwing panels over the engine and luggage bays that remain among the most theatrical details ever fitted to a road car.

Detomaso Mangusta Alameda · Craig Howell · CC BY 2.0

De Tomaso P70 chassis at Turin Motor Show in November 1965

In production

It was less convincing to drive. Weight distribution was heavily rearward, the chassis flexed under the V8's torque, brakes and cooling struggled, and visibility out of the back was close to nonexistent. Reviewers admired the look and were careful about the handling.

De Tomaso P70 chassis at Turin Motor Show in November 1965 · Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain

Legacy

Around 400 were built between 1967 and 1971 in Modena. Ford's growing involvement with De Tomaso — it would buy Ghia outright — set up the successor, and the Pantera took the same recipe with a great deal more engineering behind it.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1967–1971

Units built

401

Designer

Giorgetto Giugiaro at Ghia

Body

2-door coupé

Technical specification

The Mangusta, in detail.

Production: 1967–1971 (401 produced)
Class: Sports car (S)
Body style: 2-door coupé
Layout: Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Engine: 4728 cc Ford small block engine#289 HiPo (K-code); Ford 289 V8 engine; V8 ; 4942 cc Ford small block engine#302; Ford 302 V8
Transmission: ZF 5-speed manual
Designer: Giorgetto Giugiaro at Ghia
Assembly: Italy: Modena
Manufacturer: De Tomaso