|
Not many sports car makers would name their prized product after a mongoose, but then Alejandro de Tomaso did a lot of things other car makers wouldn’t. For instance, having a steel backbone chassis for instance or dialing in a 32/68 rearward-biased weight distribution. That’s not to say that all these risks paid off—oh, heavens no. But de Tomaso went for it, and I have to respect that.
The De Tomaso Mangusta (mangusta being the Italian word for mongoose) was the Argentinian’s second car produced under the company that bore his name. It was largely an evolution of his first car, the Vallelunga. For the Mangusta, de Tomaso enlarged the engine to a good ol’ American Ford V8 engine, paired it with the same 5 speed ZF box used in the GT40, and wrapped all that goodness in a sleek and futuristic new Giugiaro-designed body.
Having only built 53 of his Vallelungas, the Mangusta was the first car which de Tomaso built at large quantities. By “large quantities” I mean only 401 were produced between 1967 and 1971. Since only about half of these mongooses survive in the world today, they are a rare breed, indeed.
The recent skyrocketing of Mangusta prices reflect their rarity. The car which followed the Mangusta, the Pantera, has always been a more well-known car, but it is now being eclipsed by its older sibling. Mangustas are trading at a premium over the Pantera and by a good margin.
American versions of Mangustas were originally imported under federal waivers—because of their small number—which exempted them from the normal safety laws and regulations of 1969. These early Mangustas came without seatbelts and included headlights that were far lower than federal standards allowed. When the exemptions expired the following year, the front end was hastily redesigned to include pop-up headlights instead. These new lights functioned through a crude level-and-cable arrangement, which fed into the cabin. Although more rare, these pop-up versions are generally less valuable as the quad headlight design is deemed more aesthetically pleasing.
- - -
Click the arrow below to continue to the next page.
|
