www.QV500.com - De Tomaso Mangusta Part 2: Mangusta Spyder
 

Mangusta Spyder #8MA 512
A trio of particularly interesting Mangusta's were built. The first was a one-off Spyder that did the international show circuit, the second an otherwise standard Chevrolet-powered example for GM Vice President, Bill Mitchell. A third was modified for Ford Vice President, Eugene Bordinat.
   

The Spyder was built on chassis 8MA 512 in 1967. It featured the most visually extreme modifications of the three and was executed by Giorgetto Giugiaro for Ghia. The roof was entirely removed and the flat rear deck modified so as to retain spectacular centrally-hinged gullwing engine covers. Strangely for a roadster, Giugiaro chose to retain chrome window surrounds for each door, but stranger still was the two-tone colour scheme. With the lower half finished in white and the top half a reddish orange, extra definition came from an accentuated belly strip. A bank of engine-cooling vents was carved out from each of the gullwing panels, Ghia completing 8MA 512 with a custom-made hardtop. First shown at the Turin Salon in November 1967, it's doubtful whether De Tomaso wanted to put a Spyder into limited production and instead, this one-off merely served as a useful publicity tool.

 

Mangusta Spyder #8MA 512
After its show career was over, 8MA 512 was sold to a Modena-domiciled Greek who fitted a variety of rather tasteless modifications. These included four huge driving lights and a useless hood-mounted cooling scoop. Thankfully the car has since been restored to original

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