De Tomaso returns with drop-dead gorgeous P72 - AllCarIndex

De Tomaso returns with drop-dead gorgeous P72

Jul 04, 2019

De Tomaso Automobili has issued the following press release:

A legend reborn - DE TOMASO RETURNS FOR ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY

- De Tomaso returns in celebration of the 60th Anniversary.

- De Tomaso remains one of the greatest untold stories in automotive history.

- The Core team behind Apollo Automobil is responsible for the revival of De Tomaso.

- New car has been co-developed with world-renowned technical partners.

- The new car pays homage to the original De Tomaso P70, a collaboration with Alejandro de

Tomaso and Carroll Shelby.

- New car named the P72, formerly codenamed #DTPROJECTP.

- The P72 is “A Modern Day Time Machine.” “A car with Perpetual Beauty.”

- The P72 will create a new category in a similar spirit the way the Pantera did back in the

70’s.

- The P72 is based on the bespoke all-carbon fibre chassis featured on the Apollo IE.

- The P72 will remain highly exclusive, with only 72 cars to be produced.

- The P72 features a design with perpetual beauty and a proper manual transmission. A car

for all generations.

- *Full technical details will be revealed in due course.

Goodwood Festival of Speed, 4th July, 2019

We are pleased to announce that one of the greatest untold stories in automotive history, the legendary brand, De Tomaso, officially returns for its 60th Anniversary, with our ‘Modern-Day Time Machine’ the P72.

De Tomaso

- “One of the greatest untold stories in automotive history.”

The brand was founded in 1959 by racer and visionary Alejandro de Tomaso. Widely recognized for the most popular model, the Pantera, this merely scratches the surface of its rich history. Quattroruote perhaps quotes it best when they stated that Alejandro was, “One of the most controversial and active men in Italy’s industrial panorama.” A man with a vision, Alejandro was relentless in his pursuit with an unrivaled impetus to achieve beyond what people deemed fathomable. For starters, he produced some of the world’s first mid-engine road cars, developing Formula One cars with Dallara for Frank Williams and amassing a conglomerate of industrial holdings consisting of Ghia, Innocenti, Vignale, Moto Guzzi, Benelli and owning Maserati from 1975 to 1993. A comprehensive look at Alejandro’s journey and the brand history is available on our website.

Since Alejandro’s passing in 2003 the true brand has been dormant. The spirit however, has lived on, thanks to the passionate international owners clubs.

The Initiative

- How to Revive the Brand

After acquiring the brand in 2014, our team took a deep pause and asked ourselves, how do we want to embark on this initiative? How can we revive the brand with a new product whilst telling the untold story of the brands rich history in parallel?

De Tomaso is a special brand, a misunderstood brand, an incredible story that was never told. We may be young, but we are true historians at heart. The easiest thing for us to do, and the road most traveled in the automotive industry today, would have been to make a grandiose entrance with claims of high production numbers, creating a modern rendition of the iconic Pantera, the brands most famous model. Whilst the Pantera is an incredible car, this wasn’t the approach we were inclined to take.

“We took our time, we digested, we read, we studied. We learned more and more about Alejandro and the incredible achievements that he had attained. In reality, when most people hear the word De Tomaso, the only thing that comes to mind is the Pantera. This is a true icon and the most successful car of the brand. However, our approach is not solely product driven, it is driven by history and the brand.” -Norman Choi, Chairman of De Tomaso expressed.

Since we acquired the brand in 2014 we have been working diligently in complete secrecy to provide the brand the justice it deserves. That is to finally tell Alejandro’s story and his journey.

When we embarked on the Apollo IE program we wanted to create a modern-day homage to one of our favorite eras, the GT1 days of the 90s. We felt no one would ever truly produce a car like this again so we did it ourselves. We created the Apollo IE from a blank sheet of paper, producing a modern day car with true provenance. We are taking the same approach with De Tomaso and paying homage to another one of our favorite era’s, the prototype days of the ’60’s.

The rebirth of a legend

- Meet the P72

A Modern Day Time Machine

This year marks the 60th Anniversary of De Tomaso. To commemorate, we are proud to announce the launch of our new project, formally named the P72. The P72 is a tribute to the original P70.

Speaking about the new P72, Norman Choi, of De Tomaso, said, “We are delighted to announce the launch of this exclusive car. We have devoted numerous days and nights developing a car that can live up to its predecessor. The P72 evokes the spirit of Alejandro de Tomaso, the brand and the eras that this car represents.”

A true modern-day time machine, the P72 will create a new segment in today’s market. A segment for those who have been yearning for a modern-day classic that is not only dressed with a timeless shape and an unspeakable elegance, but one that will provide a grand touring experience, making you feel as if you are back in 1960’s.

“A similar way the Pantera created a new category when it debuted in 1970, the P72 will create a new benchmark of its own. We have created a modern-day time machine that pays homage to an integral part of history and a car with its own provenance. When the final specifications and pricing for the car is revealed, people will realize how it adheres to the six core foundational pillars of De Tomaso: Heritage, Passion, Racing, European Design, and World-Class Performance at Extreme Value.” - Ryan Berris, De Tomaso General Manager and CMO.

The car we are presenting is our statement car, to showcase not only the new design, but also the level of engineering execution and refinement instilled into everything we produce. This car represents a glimpse into our future, whilst an ode to the past.

Design

- Perpetual Beauty

Celebrating its 60th anniversary, the design of the P72 is inspired from the early 60s of the racing prototype era vehicles, the sport 1000, sport 2000 and P70, some of the initial cars that were developed by De Tomaso.

The P72’s evolutionary design focuses on timeless beauty and timeless proportions of the ’60’s Le Mans prototype vehicles into the modern era. The P72 is a collaboration between De Tomaso and Wyn Design, much like the collaboration between Alejandro and Carroll Shelby.

With continuous flow of all surfaces, beautifully bold lines, emphasized powerful wheel arches, low nose and teardrop glasshouse architecture, resulting in perfect proportions. The P72 design language is set to stand the test of time with flawless attention to detail, combined with the most advanced engineering execution. Unquestionably powerful and sensual from every angle, the P72 truly defines the term ‘Modern-Day Time Machine’.

“We intentionally incorporated a distinctive aerodynamically optimized body for performance and to modernize the aesthetics, while the classic wing mirrors and front emblem cap pays homage to the P70.“ - Jowyn Wong, P72 designer and founder of Wyn Design explained.

He continued, “Beneath the surface, the interior showcases an elaborated combination of design and exotic materials. Polished copper and diamond pattern detailing adorn the cabin, fashioning a true sense of drama and occasion. The classically designed switchgear and circular analogue display dials take inspiration from the timeless design themes of the 60s and 70s era.”

Chassis

- Bespoke all-carbon fibre chassis

The P72 is based on the state-of-the-art all-carbon chassis from the Apollo IE, featuring the first all-carbon fiber production chassis of its kind, consisting of the monocoque, as well as subframes and crash structures that adhere to respective FIA LMP safety requirements and features a carbon mono-cell. A similar approach to what Alejandro had done with his state-of-the-art chassis by sharing it with the Vallelunga, P70 and Mangusta. By conducting a technology transfer from the Apollo IE, the P72 has a tested and proven platform which will ensure the highest level of quality and performance with an accelerated development timeline.

The Limited Run

- There will only be 72

The P72 will remain highly exclusive and only 72 cars will be produced. Whilst having a cutting-edge world-class chassis the Project P features a design with perpetual beauty and a proper manual transmission. This is a car for all generations. Full technical specifications and pricing will be revealed in due course. We are forecasting a base price for the P72 of approximately 750,000 euro and are currently accepting Registrations of Interest via soft deposits for the limited run while we finalize the production specifications and pricing. The exterior and interior designs will remain largely the same and we will disclose final details on the powertrain and other strategic partnerships in the coming months as we plan for the full homologation process for our target markets.

De Tomaso Automobili has secured a global network of dealer partners. Our partners have been proudly appointed, reinforcing the significance of this revival and add further credence to our future plans and vision. Our representation is planned as follows: North America – Miller Motorcars, United Kingdom and Middle East - Joe Macari Performance Cars, Continental Europe - Louwman Exclusive and for Asia - SPS Automotive.

The Inspiration - Meet the P70

- A collaboration between Carroll Shelby and Alejandro de Tomaso

As with the GT1 era for the IE, another favorite era of ours is the prototype days of the sixties. A simpler time and a more curvaceous period. Being completely honest, when the brand was acquired we were unaware that this prototype period was part of the De Tomaso heritage. During our studies, endless research both on and offline and speaking to those still around from the brands past a fascinating and untold piece of De Tomaso and Automotive history surfaced. It is during this time that we discovered P. By P we mean “Prototipi” which in the history of De Tomaso references back to a special period and a special project. A project for which most have no idea ever existed.

“In 1964 the unlikely pairing of Carroll Shelby and Alejandro de Tomaso, two of the strongest egos in international motorsport, conspired to build a car they felt could defeat the best in the world, they created the P70.” - Peter Brock, designer of Shelby Daytona Coupe, Corvette Stingray and the original P70.

The understanding was that Shelby would provide the financing, Alejandro would engineer the car and Peter Brock would provide the design and the fabrication would be conducted by Fantuzzi. The collaboration began on the hopes that De Tomaso would provide the chassis and convert Shelby’s 289 Ford/Cobra engine to 7 liters. The conversion of the engine to 7 liters was a key part of their partnership in order to compete with the big block Chevrolet engines.

The Shelby-De Tomaso “Prototipi” was known as the 'P70' due to its planned 7 liter engine. Both strong personalities the two naturally experienced some tension. This really began to increase once Carroll Shelby sent his designer, Peter Brock, to Modena to oversee the project. Alejandro was insulted that someone question his abilities, and this is when the relation began to slowly dissipate. Over the course of the project the combination of two titans and ulterior motives led to the dissolving of the relationship on the eve of the cars completion. Shelby withdrew from the project as he was being courted to turn his focus to the Ford GT40 race program and was displeased with the fact that he still had not seen his promised 7 liter engine.

This parting of ways left a “chip” on Alejandro’s shoulder who would then see the project through to completion with the assistance of coach-builder Ghia (a company he would later acquire). The vehicle was displayed at the Turin Motor Show in 1965, renamed the 'Ghia-De Tomaso Sport 5000’.

A Conversation with the Original P70 Designer, Peter Brock

Q: Scuderia De Tomaso: How you feel about the us creating an homage to a car that you personally designed?

A: Peter Brock: When I was told this new De Tomaso is an “homage” to my P70 Sports racer I was honored. I had no idea my concept from the mid ‘60s would in any way be influential to a car being presented today. My first impressions of the new DeTomaso are all so positive I hardly know where to begin. The exterior form is so well done it invites you to keep walking around, admiring every subtle detail. In this day of modern super GT’s it’s difficult to stand out for more than a short time. With its design, engineering and technical specifications I think this De Tomaso P72 will set a new standard.

Q: Scuderia De Tomaso: How does this make you feel?

A: Peter Brock: I’m honored that the P70 could have been held in such high regard by the new DeTomaso team. The only thing that really determines success in the world of design is time. Every great car creates its own success by the acceptance of time.

Future

- The Vision for De Tomaso Automobili

The P72 marks our first chapter in our future initiative. In the similar spirit to how Alejandro broke the mould in automotive, we aim to scale the business carefully and sustainably one step at a time and be a pioneer in our own right for the future of mobility.

Details of our future plans will be revealed in due course.