The De Tomaso Pantera was one of the dream cars of the 70s, which remained in production for two decades. The sports car married the best Italian style, a creation of the great Tom Tjaarda, then in Ghia's service, with pure American muscle — behind the two occupants resided a powerful atmospheric V8 of Ford origin.
More recently, attempts have been made to bring it back, and we even got to know a prototype for a new generation at the end of the last century, but hopes of seeing a new Pantera would die with De Tomaso's bankruptcy declaration. But the story doesn't end here — meet the Ares Panther, a creation of Ares Design.
Just like the one-off or unique models we see from some manufacturers like Ferrari or Lamborghini, Ares Design is also dedicated to creating exclusive models for its customers, with very limited production. And his most recent proposal even involves the reinterpretation of Pantera.
The Panther hides a Huracán
Beneath the lines clearly inspired by the De Tomaso Pantera lies a Lamborghini Huracán. Unlike the original Panther, the Panther, when inheriting from the Huracán its chassis and powertrain, loses the American V8 and gains an Italian V10.
At the moment the Ares Panther's final specs are not known, but expectations are that the V10 will surpass the known numbers on the Huracán and other improvements are expected in the dynamic department.
Production of the Ares Panther is expected to start early next year at Ares Design's new facility in Modena, Italy. It should be produced in a very limited number of units, given the inherent complexity of custom production, and also the need to maintain exclusivity for its customers. The Panther is still in development and we're all curious to see if the retractable headlamps we can see in these renders survive in the final model.
In addition to the Panther, Ares Design had already presented exclusive versions of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class and the Bentley Mulsanne, in addition to creating 53 exclusive Land Rover Defender units, in partnership with JE MotorWorks.