Though our current times seems inundated with a whole bunch of custom coach makers peddling super-fast cars, it has in fact always been like that. A great many marques have come and gone over the past century, including some that even a well-ingrained car enthusiast may never have heard of.

Then there are those companies who half-made it with early successes, only to stumble in the long term. De Tomaso was one such company, the once well known name having been out of action for decades. Hemmings Auto Blog reports that recent efforts to revive De Tomaso has run short, and all the company’s assets are up for sale.

De Tomaso’s best-remembered work was the Pantera, a Ford-powered supercar that was more affordable than the average Ferrari. De Tomaso enjoyed a good deal of success for a while, but as the years went on it failed to keep up with the big players who had the support of larger companies.

Eventually, De Tomaso wound up under Pininfarina’s guidance. A large influx of money was hoped to revive the defunct automakers with cars like the above “Panthera”, but ask any of the 900+ workers who hadn’t been paid in months where that money went. Now the whole shabang is up for sale, though we’re not going to hold out hope for an 11th-hour rescue. It was a good run…