Skip to main content

Who doesn’t love a barn find? You crack open some chained barn doors, your eyes scan the scattered mess of past, present, and future agricultural attempts, and you see it. Sitting in the corner is the vague size and shape of a car covered in an old sheet, some towels, and miscellaneous boxes of stuff that can only exist together in a barn. You clear the debris off of the shape as quickly as possible while still trying to appear cool. To your utter shock, it’s a dusty Italian supercar, a De Tomaso Pantera barn find. You fall out.

De Tomaso Pantera barn find 

According to our friends at Silodrome, this 1972 De Tomaso Pantera was found stashed deep in a barn way off the beaten path in Georgia. The Pantera is surprisingly complete considering its condition. Due to a roof leak in the storage barn, the Pantera, although complete, needs a full nut-and-bolt restoration. 

The original blue and white paint scheme is still scattered across the car, but the moisture caused significant rust and paint damage. Despite its flaws, the originality of the car makes it all worth it. 

This Pantera barn find still has its stylish 5″ Campagnolo wheels with the original front and rear spoilers. The Pantera’s factory 351 V8 is sitting up front paired with a five-speed ZF transmission. This De Tomaso Pantera barn find is a treat to behold, even with the damage. 

How much is a De Tomaso Pantera worth? 

This barn find is obviously going to go for a fraction of a properly restored or survivor example. The current bid on our barn find is $17,000, with one day of bidding remaining. 

However, for De Tomaso Panteras that are road-ready, prices can range anywhere from $50,000-$250,000 depending on the year, options, and condition. Not only are these cars rare and powerful, but they are styled so extremely that it almost feels like they have to be expensive. 

Take the Lamborghini Countach, for example. It is far from the best performing Lambo; it is even further from being the fastest. However, a car that looks like that can’t trade for $30k. Just look at it. It has to be expensive. The De Tomaso Pantera is the same way. They may still be a bit cheaper than its cousin, but the prices match the car regardless of performance. 

Is the De Tomaso Pantera fast? 

A red De Tomaso Pantera GT5 Parked
De Tomaso Pantera GT5 | Wikimedia Commons

Not particularly, but it’s not slow either. Let me explain. De Tomaso isn’t the biggest or best Italian carmaker. Of all the De Tomaso cars, the Pantera (“Panther” in Italian) was the most popular but still only sold 7,200 units. 

Where other Italian supercar makers like Ferrari and Lamborghini were building their own engines, De Tomaso went the cheaper and easier route and bought American V8s. 

This 1972 De Tomaso Pantera barn find with the 351 V8 made 330 hp when it left the factory. Given that this is only the second year of production, this barn find is still pretty collectible, considering its middling performance. 

If you’d like to learn more about this specific Pantera check out the listing at Bring-a-Trailer.

Related

Elvis Presley Bought His Girlfriend a 1971 De Tomaso Pantera, Then Dumped Both 2 Years Later

Best in Sedans & Coupes
Avatar photo
Staff Writer

Peter Corn

Peter Corn joined MotorBiscuit as an Autos Writer in 2020 and brings his quippiest Southern drawl to our table. Having, in his words, “helped” rebuild his dad’s 1959 MGA as a small child, Peter grew up loving vintage cars and trucks, adding motorcycles and all things 4×4 as he went.

Peter earned a Bachelor of Archeology and Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and has since melded his love of driving with storytelling. His voice, full of pleasantries and witticisms, can be enjoyed in The Gentleman Racer, The Vintagent, Gear Patrol, Iron & Air Magazine, and Classic Car Club Magazine.

Peter is a co-founder of both The Colloquial Magazine and The Fire Escape, the official podcast of The Colloquial. In an effort to increase his abilities in “ramping anything with wheels,” Peter has taken track training from Classic Car Club Manhattan and attended Rally School at Monticello Motor Club, where he was coached by eight-time Performance Rally motorsport champion Chris Duplessis.

On a lucky day, we get to hear Peter tell the story of his first car, a jewel of a 1958 Ford Fairlane, into which he dumped more time and money than made sense, but he has no regrets.