If I had the choice of any single car to have in my stable, it would be a De Tomaso Pantera, and there are two simple reasons for that – the sweet-looks of the Tom Tjaarda American-designed, Italian-built chassis and the kick-butt American horsepower. The power is supplied by a rumbling, crackling Ford 351 Cleveland pushrod V8 engine.

The mid-engine design has a front-mounted radiator and an engine stuffed between the rear shock towers, making for an interesting setup that poses its share of issues.

The “stock” ’72 still carries the factory 351 Cleveland engine that makes a joyous sound upon startup – just take a listen to the sweet, sweet sound of American engine music – it’s a sound like no other.

The modified 1972 Pantera in this video cranks out a whopping 586 horsepower on the dyno, provided by a retrofitted 408-cube Windsor powerplant – and that’s before the healthy 125-horse dose of nitrous oxide!  The car is a retired racecar that’s been fully modified and has been restored from the ground up, with a set of fender flares that have been re-created out of steel. Modern wheels and other custom touches have been applied to make for a real sweet machine.

Panteras used a rear-mounted ZF transaxle and were factory equipped with power disc brakes and power steering, a big step for cars of that vintage.

They were originally imported by Ford Motor Company for sale through Lincoln Mercury dealers. The cars were built and sold from 1971 through 1991, but they were only imported until 1975, with gray-market importers taking over from Ford after that.

Despite poor build quality in the early years, De Tomaso sorted out their issues over time, building in increased performance and luxury throughout the rest of the car’s production cycle. The DeTomaso Pantera is one of the coolest cars to ever make it to American shores, and you should never turn down the opportunity to ride in one should someone offer.