Rod Bean wrote:
>DeTomaso Mangusta = predecessor to the DeTomaso Pantera. The Mangusta
>shares something with the Lotus 30/40, a backbone chassis which wasn't
>rigid enough and made the cars vile handling.
It shares something else as well, a Windsor family Ford small block V8;
probably almost the same one, except that in the 30 it was bored out to
5 litres (right?) and equipped with those elegant downdraft Webers.
I believe the US market Mangustas came with a Boss 302, which is another
proposition altogether. Boss 302 engines are a rarity, and are highly
sought after by Ford-heads today.
>I drove a "Mongoose" once on the street... no
>problem at normal speeds. Beeeoootiful bodywork.
Yeah, I agree. Drop dead gorgeous! I've always kinda thought of the
Mangusta as a poor man's Miura.
While on the subject of Lotus / DeTomaso similarities, how about the
DeTomaso Vallelunga? I kid you not... This was a very elegant 1600lb.
mid engine coupe using a backbone chassis, Ghia glassfibre bodywork,
Ford Kent power (presumably 116E sideflow, but not verified) and a
Hewland Mark series transaxle. All of this in 1965, well before the
Europa first appeared. Unfortunately, only about 50 of these
interesting little road cars were ever produced. Imagine a Vallelunga
with a healthy twink installed.
Dunno about headroom in a Vallelunga, tho.... ;-)
Anyone here ever driven one?
Regards,
Erik Berg
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