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| www.QV500.com - De Tomaso Factory Visit - July 2004 |
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After acquiring the 1969 De Tomaso 103 F2 car in September 2003, our attention turned to the remaining 1970 Formula 1 cars - one of which we thought would make an ideal stablemate to 103-001. It soon became apparent that, of the three cars built, only one was a realistic proposition for restoration, 505-381 having been written off after crashing during qualifying for the Spanish GP (it is reputedly now on the wall of a Swiss collector) while 505-382 had been totally destroyed in Piers Courage's fatal crash at Zandvoort. |
This left chassis 505-383, but safely in the possession of De Tomaso, it seemed unlikely it would ever come up for sale. Claudia Lodi was nice enough to e-mail some pictures of 383 in late 2003, the factory having clearly begun an aborted restoration. After being told the car was definitely not for sale, the idea was put on ice until the sad news of De Tomaso filing for liquidation arrived in the form of the July DTDC newsletter. As the factory cars were being sold, we were given renewed hope of securing the 505 and after firing off an e-mail to Claudia enquiring about its availability, it seemed a deal might be on. Claudia told us that all the cars were for sale but prices could only be discussed in person so, with reservations at the Canalgrande, we flew to Bologna the next morning and had arrived in Italy by mid afternoon. After picking up our Opel Corsa (air-conditioned thankfully) we then took the hour drive from Bologna to Modena and arrived at the Canalgrande around 5pm. A quick shower later and we were enjoying some strong continental beer on the Canalgrande's terrace before heading into town to find a good restaurant. |
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The next morning we made the 15-minute drive from the Canalgrande to the De Tomaso factory and arrived at 9.00am. We met Claudia who gave us a guided tour of the premises and told us we would be able to meet Santiago De Tomaso that afternoon. It was immediately apparent that the museum was much changed from the pictures I had seen of it, many of the cars having been recently moved to another facility. The main hall consisted of just six cars: a silver Guara Coupe, a silver Deauville Station Wagon, a gorgeous red Vallelunga Fantuzzi Spyder (Sport 1000), the 1970 505 F1 and the mysterious Thor prototype that resembled Maserati's 1970 Simun. |
| There were also some experimental engines on display along with a stunning yellow Pantera GTS that was being offered for sale on behalf of its owner. Moving on to the storeroom we were confronted by four factory racers. There was the unique 1963 Sport 2000 still with its original De Tomaso Flat-8 engine. It was identifiable by its distinctive tubular spine chassis that incorporated the fuel tank and needed a considerable amount of restoration but had some potential despite missing most of its Fantuzzi bodywork, the suspension, wheels and chassis plate. Also lined up for inspection was the solitary 1962 801 Formula 1 car, a 1964 Formula 2 without engine and a Formula 3, all three single seaters having suffered from the ravages of poor storage for lengthy periods. My opinion was that this unfortunate trio were way beyond restoration as practically nothing could be salvaged. All three had been cannibalised of practically every useful part while the tubework had structural rigidity akin to wet paper. Anyone attempting to restore of one of these cars will have to remake the vast majority of parts. |
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According to Claudia, several cars had already been sold including the partially restored Ghia-bodied 2000 Competizione, Fantuzzi's 70P and the Maserati-engined 3-seater Pantera prototype (which has since been sold by VDV Grant in Belgium). What had happened to the museum's Vallelunga Berlinetta and Guara Barchetta was unclear. Having had a good look round and checked the completeness of the 1970 F1, we headed back to the Canalgrande and waited for Claudia to ring with a time to meet Santiago. After a light lunch we were back at the factory and ushered into a small office where we waited a few minutes before Santiago was ready for us. |
| I imagine this was the same office many a road tester would have encountered a lengthy wait in while a car was readied. Santiago then took us into his office where we were soon hit with some bad news. As he put it, 'the car is for sale, but it is not for sale'. Going on to elaborate, the 1970 F1 was only going to be sold as part of a collection of eight cars to ensure that the heritage of De Tomaso was kept together! The eight cars were the unique Fissore-bodied Vallelunga Spyder, the Manugusta prototype, a silver Pantera GTS, the last Pantera SI, two Deauville's (one a Station Wagon), a restored Formula 3 car and of course the 505 F1. Everything else was being sold separately. The price for all eight cars was 500,000 Euros and included four experimental engines. We didn't have that kind of money and even if we had, finding space for everything would have proven difficult. He told us the F1 car that we could buy individually (the 1962 801 in the storeroom) did come with an engine, a 1.8-litre De Tomaso Flat 8 and this would make a competitive machine on the basis no-one would know it wasn't just a 1.5! |
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Having already checked the car over that morning, I would have been reluctant to take the project on for free, let alone at a price of 50,000 Euros. Looking over the history file we've compiled for the Formula 2 car, Santiago then recounted at length stories of the men who worked on the project. Recently he told us how he'd been going through some old parts and had found a pair of magnesium bulkheads for the 103 that he would be happy to give us. However, unable to convince him to sell the 505 (apparently even Frank Williams had once sent someone out to try and buy it), we headed back to the hotel disheartened at what seemed like a wasted journey. |
We met up for a drink with Santiago again that evening in the Canalgrande bar having decided to switch out attention to the Sport 1000 - much more than what we had hoped to spend on the 505. Buoyed by the prospect of a potential purchase, we set a time for an appointment the next morning before catching our flight back. We were still some way from finding a mutually acceptable price though and in the end, left Italy empty-handed. A deal was eventually concluded the next working day and two weeks later, our new baby arrived in the back of a Polygon transporter. With a fairly demanding schedule, the original plan to visit the Stanguellini and Panini museums, the various Modena dealerships and Pagani never materialised. I suppose it's a good excuse to make a return visit some time. Whether or not De Tomaso will find a buyer for the collection of eight cars remains to be seen, Santiago said he would like local industrialist Umberto Panini to take it. Panini stepped in to stop the Maserati factory's collection of 19 important cars being publicly auctioned off by Bonhams (then Brooks) in December 1996. |
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On that occasion it transpired that when Alessandro DeTomaso sold Maserati to Fiat, he kept contol of the historic collection of machinery and come 1996, was prepared to sell the cars off individually to the highest bidder. This caused uproar in Modena and a consortium led by Panini eventually secured the collection two weeks before the auction at a price of 3.4 billion Lira. This in itself would hardly have endeared De Tomaso to Panini and now several very important cars have gone their separate ways, the batch of cars to be sold together is a far less important representation than it could have been. |
| Factory owned cars and their fate as of October 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1962 801 Formula 1 |
1964 Formula 2 |
Formula 3 |
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1963 Sport 2000 |
1966 Sport 1000 |
1970 505 Formula 1 |
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1966 Sport 1000 |
1966 Sport 1000 |
1966 Sport 1000 |
