New DeTomaso Pantera to debut in Frankfurt – with video

While the DeTomaso Deauville is little more than a Cadillac SRX with a unique skin, rumors suggest that the new DeTomaso Pantera will be a car with an identity of its own. The Pantera is expected to offer Pininfarina styling with styling cues from the original DeTomaso sports cars of the 1970s. It is expected that the new Pantera will utilize an aluminum chassis construction that will yield a curb weight in the range of 2,600lbs. There have been no official company renderings issued but in May a YouTube user caught the video shown below with what is believed to be a test mule of the next Pantera. (That video is available at the bottom of the article and make sure that you have the sound up, because this ambiguous supercar sounds awesome.)

Much like the lack of images, there has been no official information offered on the drivetrain but rumors suggest that unlike the original DeTomaso Pantera (shown on the right) that packed Ford power, the new Pantera will be powered by a General Motors V8 with around 600 horsepower. The Chevrolet Corvette has an amazing engine lineup so some version of any of the current Corvettes would certainly make for a worthy engine of this modern Italian supercar but it would only take moderate effort to pull 600 horsepower from the LS7 engine from the Z06 and it might even be easier to detune the LS9 from the ZR1 – but would GM really farm out the powerplant of their most powerful Corvette ever? Also, the video below seems to sound like it could be an LS-based GM V8 and from the pause between first and second gear, it sounds like this Pantera is manually shifted.

Just to review, that is a DeTomaso Pantera with 600 horsepower and a curb weight of just 2,600lbs for a power to weight ratio of just 4.3 pounds per HP. For comparison, the Corvette ZR1 offers 638 horsepower but weighs 3,333lbs for a power to weight ratio of 5,2lbs per HP and it is one of the fastest cars in the world.

It was originally expected that the Pantera would make its debut at the 2011 LA Auto Show but if these rumors prove to be correct, the new DeTomaso supercar will launch much earlier in the year. The 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show opens on September 13th for the media and the 15th for the general public.

Source: World Car Fans

Other Pantera News:
DeTomaso Deauville unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show
The new DeTomaso SLC Concept is a far cry from the Pantera
New DeTomaso Pantera could debut at the 2011 LA Auto Show