Founded in Modena in 1959 by Argentine-born racer and entrepreneur Alejandro de Tomaso, De Tomaso Automobili quickly established itself as one of Italy’s most distinctive performance car manufacturers. Backed financially in its early years by Amory Haskell Jr., the company initially focused on building racing cars and sports prototypes before expanding into high-performance road cars that blended Italian styling with dependable American V8 power.
| Nationality | Italian |
| Base | Modena, Italy |
| Years Active | 1961–1963, 1970 |
| First Race | 1961 French Grand Prix |
| Last Race | 1970 United States Grand Prix |
| Race Entries | 15 |
| Race Starts | 10 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Constructors’ Championships | 0 |
| Drivers’ Championships | 0 |
| Best Start | 9th |
| Did Not Start | 2 |
| Did Not Qualify | 4 |
| Retirements | 10 |
A major turning point came in 1971 when Ford Motor Company acquired an 84 per cent stake in the business, while Alejandro de Tomaso retained the remaining shares. The partnership helped transform De Tomaso into an international brand, although Ford sold its interest back to the company just three years later. Following years of financial struggles and several changes of ownership, the marque was revived in 2014 by Hong Kong-based Ideal Team Ventures. The reborn company unveiled its first new model, the retro-inspired P72, at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Road cars
De Tomaso’s first production road car was the Vallelunga, introduced in 1963. Named after the famous Italian racing circuit, the lightweight mid-engined sports car featured a Ford four-cylinder engine mounted in a steel backbone chassis, a construction method that would become a hallmark of the company’s early models. Around 60 examples were built.
The company achieved far greater success with the Mangusta, launched in 1966. Styled by Ghia and powered by a Ford V8, it marked De Tomaso’s shift towards combining Italian design with American muscle. Around 400 Mangustas were produced before the model was replaced.
Its true icon arrived in 1971 with the Pantera. Designed by Tom Tjaarda at Ghia and powered by Ford’s 351 Cleveland V8, the Pantera became De Tomaso’s best-known model. Through Ford’s Lincoln-Mercury dealer network, more than 6,000 examples were sold in the United States during the early years of production, making it by far the company’s most successful car. Even after Ford withdrew from the project following the 1973 oil crisis, De Tomaso continued hand-building the Pantera in small numbers until 1993. The final evolution, the Pantera 90 Si, introduced modern styling revisions and fuel injection before production came to an end.
Replacing the Pantera was the Guarà, introduced in 1993. Designed by Carlo Gaino, it featured advanced composite construction and was available as both a coupé and an open-top Barchetta. Like many later De Tomaso models, production remained extremely limited.
The company also explored several ambitious projects that never reached full commercial success. The striking Biguà, later sold as the Qvale Mangusta following the collapse of a partnership with American importer Qvale, never fulfilled its original promise under the De Tomaso name. An ambitious off-road vehicle programme developed with Russian manufacturer UAZ also failed to reach production before the company entered liquidation.
Following the brand’s revival, De Tomaso returned to the spotlight in 2019 with the stunning P72. Inspired by the original P70 race car and the endurance racers of the 1960s, the carbon-fibre supercar combined classic styling with modern engineering and became the flagship of the reborn marque.
Luxury cars
Although best known for exotic sports cars, De Tomaso also built a small range of luxury grand tourers and saloons. The elegant Deauville, introduced in 1971, was designed to rival executive cars from Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz, combining a front-mounted Ford V8 with a spacious four-door body styled by Tom Tjaarda.
A year later came the Longchamp, a stylish grand tourer sharing much of its mechanical package with the Deauville. Both cars remained niche products, but they demonstrated the company’s ambition to compete beyond the sports car market.
Maserati and Innocenti
Alejandro de Tomaso’s influence extended well beyond his own company. In 1976, with support from the Italian government, he acquired Maserati following Citroën’s withdrawal. During his 17-year ownership, Maserati was revitalised with models including the Kyalami, Biturbo, Karif, Quattroporte III, Shamal and Ghibli. His strategy of sharing platforms and engineering across multiple models helped return the famous marque to stability before it was sold to Fiat in 1993.
That same year also marked the end of De Tomaso’s ownership of Innocenti, another Italian manufacturer he had rescued in 1976. Under his leadership, Innocenti produced sporting versions of its compact Mini models before the company was also sold to Fiat.
Revival
Following Alejandro de Tomaso’s death in 2003, the company entered liquidation the following year. Several attempts were made to revive the brand, including a 2009 acquisition by former Fiat executive Gian Mario Rossignolo, who announced ambitious plans for a new generation of luxury cars and sports models. However, the project collapsed amid financial difficulties, and Rossignolo was later convicted of fraud relating to government funding intended for the company’s revival.
A more successful new chapter began in 2014 when Norman Choi’s Ideal Team Ventures acquired the De Tomaso name. Five years later, the company unveiled the P72 as a celebration of the marque’s 60th anniversary, signalling the return of one of Italy’s most charismatic automotive brands. In 2022, De Tomaso also announced the track-only P900 hypercar, although the project was later cancelled before entering production.
Formula One
De Tomaso’s involvement in Formula One was relatively brief but remains an important part of the company’s history. The marque first appeared as a constructor between 1961 and 1963, building its own chassis and experimenting with several different engines. Its most ambitious early project was the De Tomaso 801, powered by an innovative 135-degree V8 engine, although the car failed to qualify for its only Grand Prix appearance at Monza in 1962.
The company returned to Formula One in 1970 when it supplied the De Tomaso 505/38, designed by Giampaolo Dallara, for Frank Williams Racing Cars. Unfortunately, the project became one of the sport’s most tragic chapters. During the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, driver Piers Courage was killed when his De Tomaso crashed, overturned and caught fire. Despite continuing with Brian Redman and later Tim Schenken for the remainder of the season, the uncompetitive programme failed to score points and the partnership between De Tomaso and Frank Williams ended at the close of the year.
Although the company never achieved success in Formula One, its contribution to motorsport and road car design secured De Tomaso a lasting place among Italy’s most celebrated performance car manufacturers.
De Tomaso Stats by Season
| Year | Engine | Drivers | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Points | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | OSCA, Conrero | Giorgio Scarlatti, Roberto Bussinello, Roberto Lippi, Nino Vaccarella | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 20 | – | 0 | NC |
| 1962 | Alfa Romeo, De Tomaso, OSCA | Nasif Estefano, Roberto Lippi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | NC |
| 1963 | De Tomaso, Ferrari | Roberto Lippi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | NC |
| 1970 | Ford Cosworth | Piers Courage, Tim Schenken, Brian Redman | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | – | 0 | NC |
