SPARK-MODEL - DE TOMASO - PANTERA 5.8L V8 TEAM ESCUDERIA MONTJUICH N 30 24h LE MANS 1972 JOSE JUNCADELLA - FERNANDO DE BAVIERA

It was in 1972 that De Tomaso started considering a competition use for the Pantera. Former Autodelta driver and manager, Roberto Bussinello, test driver Guerino Bertocchi and driver Mike Parkes were in charge of the development, for the car that obtained the GT (Group 3) and GTS (Group 4) homologation. The cars, modified starting from the road bases, were used by private teams, such as the Dubois Team, the Franco Britannic Team, the Scuderia Brescia Corse and other good-level structures, which however had difficulty in keeping up with the Ferrari Daytonas and the Porsche 911s in various versions. The engines gave about 440 horsepower, but there was no lack of experimental versions that could reach 470 horsepower. In the late 1970s, Sala Marverti also developed a Group 5 version of the Pantera, which also raced at Le Mans but without particular success.