De Tomaso Mangusta

www.QV500.com - De Tomaso Mangusta Part 1: Mangusta

Mangusta brochure

Although the solitary Sport 5000 that later evolved into the 70P failed to secure De Tomaso a partnership with Shelby, the underpinnings from this experimental sports prototype went on to form the basis of a new production car. Known as the Mangusta, its name came from the Italian translation for mongoose, this appropriately having been one of the few mammals that could successfully deal with a cobra. After being spurned by Shelby, De Tomaso set about his goal of creating a brand to match the European thoroughbreds with renewed vigour. Specifically, he had Ferrari and Lamborghini in his sights.

The Mangusta would take the firm into previously unchartered territory, De Tomaso's only earlier experience of road car manufacture having come with the diminutive Vallelunga of which barely 50 were eventually made. Powered by a mid-mounted Ford V8, the Mangusta took De Tomaso from sportscars to supercars and in the five years between 1967 and '71, a respectable 401 were manufactured. Initially only one version was available, this featuring a 4.7-litre 289 engine with 306bhp. However, with the increasingly draconian Federal safety and emissions legislation being imposed in the USA, a 5-litre 302 with just 220bhp was later introduced for the North American market. The underpinnings were typical De Tomaso, the Mangusta's 70P-derived central spine chassis looking every-inch like a beefed up Vallelunga. Suspension was via independent telescopic shocks all-round with triangular wishbones at the front and trailing links at the rear. Twin circuit disc brakes measured 292mm and 280mm front / rear respectively, the steering having been of the unassisted rack & pinion variety. Gorgeous 15-inch cast magnesium Campagnolo wheels were seven-inches wide at the front and eight at the back. They were originally shod with Dunlop SP rubber. To power the Mangusta, De Tomaso installed 4.7-litre Ford V8's delivered direct from Detroit to Italy. With a bore and stroke of 101.8mm x 72.9, these 289 engines had a displacement of 4728cc. On arrival in Modena, they were equipped with ribbed cylinder heads that bore decorative De Tomaso scripting, the compression ratio typically being upped to between 9.85 and 10.5:1. The solitary four-barrel downdraught carb remained unchanged. Boasting 306bhp at 6200rpm, the engine was connected to a five-speed ZF gearbox via a hydraulic single-plate clutch.

Mangusta #8MA 1266

To design and build bodywork, attention inevitably turned to Ghia, an illustrious coachbuilder Alejandro De Tomaso would acquire in early 1967. Ghia's head designer was Giorgetto Giugiaro and he would have relished the opportunity to clothe one of the first mid-engined supercars. The end result must have been enormously satisfying for all concerned and the Mangusta has subsequently gone down in history as among the most exciting automotive designs of a golden era. At just 1100mm tall (43-inches), it was barely waist high, the centrally-hinged gullwing engine covers having been a spectacular innovation.

The front lid and engine covers were lightweight alloy whilst the rest of the bodywork was steel. Inside, the low roof took its toll on headroom and meant the Mangusta was only a serious proposition for those drivers under six-feet. The adjustable bucket seats were trimmed in leather along with the door inserts, transmission tunnel and padded dash, electric windows coming fitted as standard. Air-conditioning was an essential optional extra to avoid turning the glassy cabin into a greenhouse on sunny days. Weighing in at a claimed 1185kg, performance-wise the Mangusta was a match for Lamborghini's equally flamboyant Miura. Top speed was 152mph whilst 0-60 took six seconds dead, 0-100 13.8. However, with the weight split 32 / 68 front to rear, the Mangusta was exciting to say the least! The prototype debuted at the Turin Salon in November 1966 and unsurprisingly caused a sensation. Production versions differed by ditching the glass-covered headlights, removable glass roof, external fuel filler cap, curved dash and four twin-choke Weber carbs. Customer cars began rolling out of the factory in 1967 and visually the car changed very little until being discontinued in late 1971. Because of the drastic safety and emissions legislation gradually being imposed on vehicles sold in the US during the late sixties, De Tomaso were forced to offer a dumbed-down Mangusta. To begin with, the 289 engine was replaced in favour of a wheezey 5-litre 302. Dropped in without any modification whatsoever, these 4949cc engines were identifiable by the absence of the traditional De Tomaso rocker covers. Producing a disappointing 220bhp, to improve the acceleration, many 302-engined cars were equipped with a 4.5:1 differential ratio instead of the 4.2:1 found on 289's.

Mangusta #8MA 1266

Unfortunately the 302-engined Mangusta's could barely exceed 130mph and took over seven seconds to reach 60mph. They were identifiable by their larger sidelights but some later 302's were also forced to adopt ugly retractable single lens headlights to meet new US legislation. Destroying the originals sensationally good looks, thankfully only a relatively small proportion were completed as such before the Mangusta was discontinued at the end of 1971. In total, 401 Mangusta's were built with chassis numbers ranging from 8MA 500 to 1300. It seems likely that around a dozen of these were completed in right-hand drive.