Yes, there is a new De Tomaso supercar coming. Yes, it is achingly terrific. And sure, to explain this automobile, we want to move on a chunk of a records lesson.
The new P72’s story starts offevolved with the stillborn De Tomaso P70; a challenge began more than 50 years ago. At the quit of 1964, Carroll Shelby had to provide you with a brand new prototype to prepare for the hastily drawing near Can-Am era of global racing.
Cobras weren’t going to cut it anymore. In Italy, Alejandro de Tomaso became busy preparing his first road vehicle, the Vallelunga, perfecting his transaxle chassis, and planning to construct a 7-liter V-eight for racing. When he heard that Shelby had sufficient cash to finance a decent deadline, a deal becomes made. But the Texan additionally delivered an SCCA-permitted layout from Peter Brock to the desk, and that is wherein the problems started. Not most effective became Alejandro de Tomaso behind schedule to give five race motors with his state-of-the-art engines for the 1965 season, but he also got offended while Shelby sent Brock over to make sure they stayed real to the authentic design.
Eventually, Shelby pulled the plug on the Italian undertaking to recognition on the GT40 project. Having purchased Carrozzeria Ghia, de Tomaso displayed his single finished P70 as the Ghia De Tomaso Sport 5000 on the 1965 Turin Auto Show. He then changed the P70’s chassis to serve as a base for his first volume production vehicle, the Mangusta, while the display automobile remained a one-off. Peter Brock had this to say about the P70 at Amelia Island in 2016:
“It expressed the liberty to innovate that changed into so ordinary of the Can-Am policies… there were none! Also, it was the first time I were given to complete the adjustable rear wing concept, which I had planned for the Daytona Coupe. When I went to Italy to construct the P70, there was no one to counter my wishes, and the car got built precisely as I desired. It’s nevertheless one of the last extraordinary pieces of hand-built Modenese car art.”
Alejandro de Tomaso died in 2003, but the corporation that bore his name changed into lengthy past its heyday with the aid of then. Norman Choi, the Hong Kong-primarily based CEO of Apollo Automobil purchased the emblem in 2014 and shortly decided that, in preference to developing a modern-day-day Pantera, De Tomaso’s return need to be a bigger bang. Five years later, it’s time for the fireworks.
The P72 is built around the carbon chassis at the start developed using AMG-supplier HWE for the Apollo IE. The layout, a love letter to De Tomaso and Ghia, changed into performed by Jowyn Wong, who penned Apollo’s GT1-inspired hypercar. Talk about beating the Italians at their game:
Once you check the indoors—guide shifter and all—it needs to turn out to be clean why this vehicle is constrained to 72 units. The P72 will begin at $850,000 (plus tax), which may also sound like a good deal in a global full of Paganis and Koenigseggs that cost accurately over twice that, however as the brand new halo vehicle of a historic luxury sports activities car brand, the P72 is not supposed to be as “commonplace” as a LaFerrari.
And if all this leaves you thinking approximately what engine lurks underneath that large pinnacle-mounted exhaust, De Tomaso’s press launch wouldn’t say. But we do recognise that the Apollo team has a quite-effective evidently-aspirated (Ferrari-primarily based) V-12 on its shelf, which suits this chassis and works with a manual gearbox. But I bet we’re going to study more excellent details once we have heard it scream to lifestyles on the Goodwood Festival of Speed over this weekend.
