De Tomaso’s Flamboyant New Hypercar Is a Futuristic Tribute to the Marque’s Past

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In a world where supercar design seems to have gotten ever more angular, this new hypercar, from resurrected marque De Tomaso, is showing curves worthy of an alpine pass. The P72’s bubbly roof, headlamps and tail view feel almost cartoonish in shape, but get some interesting edge from its glittering copper wheels and other rosy- hued metallic touches. De Tomaso, which brought us the Mangusta and Pantera supercars in the 1960s and ’70s, had its ownership evolve over the years from Italian and American parentage to its current oversight by Hong Kong-based Ideal Team Ventures.

The flamboyant ride is inspired by models of the marque’s past. Nothing about the P72 is subtle, with its all-bespoke carbon fiber chassis, swoopy lines and copper accents. The opulent interior is also detailed in copper, with rich, quilted-leather stitching akin to that of Bugatti and boutique automaker Spyker.

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The car is meant as an homage to the ill-fated Shelby De Tomaso P70 (the P stands for prototipi and 70 is for the 7.0-liter engine displacement), a race car designed in partnership with Peter Brock for the 1966 Can-Am Challenge (a project that was scrapped after disagreements between the designers). But it’s also easy to see shades of early Alfa Romeos and modern Ferraris; specifically the Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina, a one-off modified from a Ferrari Enzo for collector James Glickenhaus and first shown at the 2006 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Of note is the P72’s manual gearbox with an exposed linkage, as opposed to the dual-clutch transmissions favored by most of today’s high-end manufacturers. De Tomaso hasn’t announced any other power-train details, but some guess the muscle could come from the same 5.0-liter V-8 found in the 2019 Ford GT, given De Tomaso’s long history with the American carmaker.

Argentinian Alejandro de Tomaso founded the company in 1959 in Modena, Italy. A rocky road followed: Ford acquired a majority stake in the early ’70s and sold it back just a few years later. De Tomaso later took over Maserati, until that brand was sold off to Fiat in the ’90s. Now owned by the same leadership behind the 780 hp Apollo Intensa Emozione, De Tomaso will make only 72 examples of the P72 at a starting price of about $841,000.

For serious purchase inquiries, contact De Tomaso’s general manager, Ryan Berris, at [email protected].

Check out more photos of the De Tomaso P72 below:

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