De Tomaso Vallelunga
Encyclopedia
The Vallelunga was an extremely rare mid-engined, rear wheel drive sports car
produced by De Tomaso
from 1964 until 1968.
designed by Carozzeria Fissore and named after the Autodromo di Vallelunga
first shown as a concept car
at the Turin Motor Show in 1964. De Tomaso had hoped to sell the design of the concept to another company, perhaps Ford
, but when there were no takers had the car produced by Ghia
.
Kent engine
from the Ford
Cortina
with 104 hp
(78 kW) at 6200 rpm
. A Volkswagen Beetle
transaxle, fitted with Hewland gearsets, was used. The chassis
was a pressed steel backbone with tubular subframes. Suspension
was double wishbone and coil springs at all four corners with uprights sourced from Triumph
. The small car weighed 726 kg (1600 lb) with a fiberglass body and many drilled aluminium
parts. Brakes were disc
all around.
. The Mangusta used the concept of the Vallelunga chassis, significantly re-engineered to take a Ford Boss 302 engine
, all packaged with a body by Giorgetto Giugiaro
.
One enthusiastic young owner of the Vallelunga was Ricci Martin, son of the late entertainer Dean Martin. Ricci obtained the red car around the time of his sixteenth birthday in 1969, but his brother wrote it off a few months later in a road accident. Ricci's mother went to some effort to locate a replacement car in an auto showroom in Milan, Italy, and she also arranged for the new car to be air-freighted to California. Of further interest, a few years later Ricci Martin sold the replacement Vallelunga after purchasing a version of its successor, the Mangusta. The Ricci Martin car (VIN 807DT0116) did not die, however. It was generally restored by machinist K. Krohncke in San Jose, California sold to a collector in Southern California in 1980 and now lives in Florida.
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
produced by 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...
from 1964 until 1968.
History
The Vallelunga was based on a roadsterRoadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
designed by Carozzeria Fissore and named after the Autodromo di Vallelunga
ACI Vallelunga Circuit
The Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi is a racing circuit situated north of Rome, Italy, near Vallelunga of Campagnano. Vallelunga was built as a sand oval in 1959. From 1963 the circuit held the Rome Grand Prix, and in 1967 a new loop was added when the track became the property of the...
first shown as a concept car
Concept car
A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....
at the Turin Motor Show in 1964. De Tomaso had hoped to sell the design of the concept to another company, perhaps Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, but when there were no takers had the car produced by Ghia
Carrozzeria Ghia
Carrozzeria Ghia SpA is one of the most famous Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firms, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio, located at 4 Corso Valentino in Turin....
.
Specifications
The engine was a 1.5L straight-4Straight-4
The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
Kent engine
Ford Kent engine
The Ford Kent is an internal combustion engine from Ford of Europe. Originally developed in 1959 for the Ford Anglia, it is an in-line four-cylinder engine with a cast-iron cylinder head and block.-Pre-Crossflow:...
from the Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
Cortina
Ford Cortina
As the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true minicar to be built in Britain in the postwar era...
with 104 hp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
(78 kW) at 6200 rpm
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
. A Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
transaxle, fitted with Hewland gearsets, was used. The 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 a pressed steel backbone with tubular subframes. Suspension
Suspension (vehicle)
Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose — contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...
was double wishbone and coil springs at all four corners with uprights sourced from Triumph
Triumph Motor Company
The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
. The small car weighed 726 kg (1600 lb) with a fiberglass body and many drilled aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
parts. Brakes were disc
Disc brake
The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
all around.
Demise
Unfortunately the chassis wasn't torsionally sound for engines with higher torque made worst since some welding in the backbone spine fabricated in Italy was faulty, and drive train vibrations were a constant problem for those cars. Only 53 production cars were built (58 including aluminum body prototypes and race cars) before it was replaced by the De Tomaso MangustaDe Tomaso Mangusta
The De Tomaso Mangusta is a sports car from Italian automobile manufacturer De Tomaso produced between 1967 and 1971.-History:The Mangusta replaced the Vallelunga model, on which its chassis was based. The word "Mangusta" is Italian for "Mongoose", an animal that can kill cobras...
. The Mangusta used the concept of the Vallelunga chassis, significantly re-engineered to take a Ford Boss 302 engine
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...
, all packaged with a body by 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...
.
One enthusiastic young owner of the Vallelunga was Ricci Martin, son of the late entertainer Dean Martin. Ricci obtained the red car around the time of his sixteenth birthday in 1969, but his brother wrote it off a few months later in a road accident. Ricci's mother went to some effort to locate a replacement car in an auto showroom in Milan, Italy, and she also arranged for the new car to be air-freighted to California. Of further interest, a few years later Ricci Martin sold the replacement Vallelunga after purchasing a version of its successor, the Mangusta. The Ricci Martin car (VIN 807DT0116) did not die, however. It was generally restored by machinist K. Krohncke in San Jose, California sold to a collector in Southern California in 1980 and now lives in Florida.