De Tomaso Mangusta
Encyclopedia
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
from Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
automobile manufacturer De Tomaso
De Tomaso
De Tomaso Automobili SpA is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso in Modena in 1959. It originally produced various prototypes and racing cars, including a Formula One car for Frank Williams' team in 1970. The company developed a reputation...
produced between 1967 and 1971.
History
The Mangusta replaced the VallelungaDe Tomaso Vallelunga
The Vallelunga was an extremely rare mid-engined, rear wheel drive sports car produced by De Tomaso from 1964 until 1968.-History:The Vallelunga was based on a roadster designed by Carozzeria Fissore and named after the Autodromo di Vallelunga first shown as a concept car at the Turin Motor Show in...
model, on which its chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
was based. The word "Mangusta" is Italian for "Mongoose
Mongoose
Mongoose are a family of 33 living species of small carnivorans from southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. Four additional species from Madagascar in the subfamily Galidiinae, which were previously classified in this family, are also referred to as "mongooses" or "mongoose-like"...
", an animal that can kill cobra
Cobra
Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
s. It was rumored that the car was so named because De Tomaso had some talks with Carroll Shelby to replace Shelby Cobra
AC Cobra
The AC Cobra, also known colloquially as the Shelby Cobra in North America, is an Anglo-American sports car that was produced during the 1960s.-History and development:...
with a racing car built in Italy by the argentinian ("De Tomaso Sport 5000" a.k.a. "De Tomaso P70"), but no deal was signed since Shelby was involved by Ford into Ford GT40
Ford GT40
The Ford GT40 was a high performance sports car and winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans four times in a row, from 1966 to 1969...
racing programme. Nevertheless, Alessandro DeTomaso and Carroll Shelby were friends and business is business, so it is also rumored that the initial 200 engines for the Mangusta did come from Shelby. The Mangusta was replaced by the much cheaper to build De Tomaso Pantera
De Tomaso Pantera
The Pantera was a sports car produced by the De Tomaso car company of Italy from 1971 to 1991, the last one being delivered to a customer in 1992.The word "Pantera" is Italian for "Panther".-History:...
in 1971.
401 Mangustas were built, about 150 of the European version, with four headlamps and Ford 289 Cu.In. engine; and the rest are USA version, with 2 "pop up" headlamps and less powerful Ford 302 engines. One car was built with a Chevrolet engine for General Motors Vice President, Bill Mitchell. There are reported to be fewer than 170 left in existence, according to the three available registries.
Specifications
Originally fitted with Ford 289 V8 engine mid-mountedMid-engine design
A mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine between the rear and front axles. Another term for this is mid-ship.-Benefits:The mid-engine layout is typically chosen for its relatively favorable weight distribution...
306 hp (Eu version), in the North American market the Mangusta was introduced with a Ford 302
Ford Boss 302 engine
The Boss 302 engine is a high-performance small-block V8 from Ford Motor Company. It was a hybrid of small-block Ford V8s - It used the block of the small Ford Windsor engine and the heads of the larger Ford Cleveland engine...
V8 engine 220 hp, driving through a 5 speed ZF
ZF Friedrichshafen
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a German public company headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south-west German region of Baden-Württemberg....
transaxle
Transaxle
In the automotive field, a transaxle is a major mechanical component that combines the functionality of the transmission, the differential, and associated components of the driven axle into one integrated assembly....
. Giorgetto Giugiaro
Giorgetto Giugiaro
Giorgetto Giugiaro is an Italian automobile designer responsible equally for a stable of supercars and several of the most popular everyday vehicles driven today...
designed the car, which is easily recognised by its gull wing doors over the engine and luggage compartment. Disc brakes were fitted at all four corners. Top speed was claimed to be 250 km/h (155 mph).
The Mangusta was relatively inexpensive for the time but, with a 32/68 weight distribution and a less than solid chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
, suffered from stability problems and poor handling
Car handling
Automobile handling and vehicle handling are descriptions of the way wheeled vehicles perform transverse to their direction of motion, particularly during cornering and swerving. It also includes their stability when moving at rest. Handling and braking are the major components of a vehicle's...
. The car was also cramped and had extremely low ground clearance.
Revival
The Mangusta name was revived in the early 2000s when the concept car De Tomaso Biguà became the Qvale MangustaQvale Mangusta
The Qvale Mangusta is a sports car produced in limited numbers in Italy by the automaker Qvale between 2000 and 2002. During development and early production, it was badged as the De Tomaso Biguá in Europe, in North America it was badged De Tomaso Mangusta after the De Tomaso car built between 1967...
, after a dispute between De Tomaso and business partner Qvale
Qvale
Qvale was an independent Italian car manufacturer founded in 2000 by the American Kjell Qvale's son, Bruce Qvale. Qvale's sole product was the Mangusta, originally the De Tomaso Biguà. Kjell Qvale founded British Motors in 1947 in San Francisco, California and is very well known in the automotive...
. The Qvale sold only in limited numbers.
External links
- http://www.allsportauto.com/english/modules.php?name=Sportphoto&zl_idMD=512 - Pictures of a 1969 De Tomaso Mangusta
- http://www.DeTomasoRegistry.org - The PROVAMO registry of De Tomaso Automobiles
- http://www.mangustainternational.com - The Mangusta International Mangusta Registry
- http://www.qv500.com/de-tomaso-registry/de-tomaso-mangusta-chassis-numbers/ - The QV500 Registry of De Tomaso Automobiles
- http://home.comcast.net/~parapantera - A small De Tomaso registry in Excel format that can be downloaded. Includes a page dedicated to the Mangusta