Ford President and CEO Jim Farley recently made headlines for something seemingly unrelated to Ford, the sale of his 1972 DeTomaso Pantera.

While the classic exotic sports car has Italian roots, there’s also a less obvious Ford connection — the car included a Ford engine and thousands were sold at the company’s Lincoln-Mercury dealership locations in the 1970s.

Ford’s involvement began in 1969, when the company agreed to exchange technical services with Ghia Studios and de Tomaso Automobili, both located in Italy. Ghia was a well-known design studio and custom coachbuilder, and de Tomaso was known for manufacturing limited production sports cars and race cars.

The partnership was expected to yield “a number of” Ford engineering prototypes, show cars, and limited-build specialty vehicles built by Ghia and de Tomaso. It was also expected that Ford personnel would train at the Ghia/de Tomaso facilities, where they would follow a project from the design phase through to the finished product.

Italian Design Meets Ford Engineering

The Pantera came just two years after the partnership began. Introduced in 1971, it was a two-seat, mid-engine specialty sports coupe that would be available at nearly 200 select Lincoln-Mercury dealership locations in the U.S. The body of the Pantera, Italian for panther, was designed by Ghia and built by Vignale, a nearby production facility.

The Pantera sold for around $10,000, and its sales quickly outpaced other exotic Italian sports car imports, selling more than 1,100 units. The Pantera was “virtually handmade,” according to an advertisement, and just 2,500 were planned to be built in the first model year.

According to the advertisement, the Pantera was “designed to appeal to the enthusiast who wants sleek styling with superior performance and workmanship.” It had a wheelbase of 98 inches and a height of just 44 inches. Its 0 to 60 mph time was touted almost as much as its stopping ability. An advertisement for the car also publicized an innovative feature that prevented drivers from accidentally selecting the wrong gear when shifting.

The Pantera’s interior was modeled after traditional Italian coachwork. Its contoured seats were sewn by master craftsmen, while the racing-style steering wheel, instrument panel, and console were all padded. A complete set of instruments was placed vertically on a panel above the center console, while a large tachometer and speedometer were positioned in front of the driver.

The car’s popularity was reflected by its inclusion in a series of watercolor prints of classic cars, including other well-known Italian sports cars. The set was created by a Detroit-based artist in late-1972. More than 3,500 Panteras had been sold in the U.S. by early 1974, and another 1,000 were sold in Europe. Roughly 9,000 Panteras were sold during its production run, according to a 1996 Ford press release. Ford reportedly stopped importing the car to the U.S. in 1975, though de Tomaso continued building and selling the Pantera until 1991.

A short time after the Pantera’s introduction, Ford bought Ghia and de Tomaso outright in a $4.5 million deal. Ford then rolled those into a subsidiary, DeTomaso Inc., before restructuring it as Ghia Operations in late-1972. As an extension of Ford’s advanced design studio, Ghia produced prototypes for Ford, as well as design renderings for certain design programs.

From Ford Pool Car Into History

The Pantera sold by Jim Farley had originally been used as a pool car in the Aeronutronic Division of Ford Aerospace beginning in 1972, before being registered to a private owner in California in 1974. The car was later put on display at a Massachusetts car museum, where it remained for nearly 20 years until 2018. Farley reportedly acquired the Pantera in 2024, making numerous updates and having other work done, according to the vehicle listing.

Despite its niche as an exotic sports car, the Pantera represents a bold collaboration where Ford engineering met exquisite Italian design. Just a few years after the Ford GT reeled off consecutive victories at Le Mans, the Pantera provided another example where Ford proved it belonged among the world’s best.

Jamie Myler is the research archivist for Ford Motor Company