An Ultra-Rare De Tomaso Pantera 90 Si Is Now Heading to Auction

The De Tomaso Pantera, produced from 1971 to 1992, was, originally, Ford’s halo sports car, an Italian looker with American muscle under the hood that was famous in its time and even more so after. Now, one of the rarest Panteras is heading to auction Friday in Miami.

The De Tomaso Pantera 90 Si up for sale is one of just 41 built and was the final iteration of a car that was famed for its many—and confusing—number of iterations, not to mention modifications performed by owners that made many a Pantera all but unrecognizable. The Pantera 90 Si, introduced in 1990, got a new engine, different suspension, and heightened chassis. It was intended to revive sales but ended up being its last salvo.

This example is painted yellow with just 18,763 kilometers on the odometer and has spent most of its life in Europe, having been delivered new to Germany, according to RM Sotheby’s. Instead of the 5.0-liter Ford Mustang V-8 that Pantera 90 Sis originally came with, this example has a Ford 351 Cleveland V-8 like the original Panteras. That engine was installed “at some point prior” to being acquired by a dealer in Belgium in 2020. The car was later imported into the U.S., where it got a new carburetor and distributor to keep it running.

“Today,” RM Sotheby’s says, “it shows minimal signs of use inside and out, and would be ideal for further presentation.”

Sotheby’s estimates that the Pantera 90 Si will go for between $150,000 and $200,000, which would put it among the most expensive Panteras on the market, owing to its good condition and rarity.

Just 41 Pantera 90 Sis were built, with two of them destroyed in crash testing. A third is in the De Tomaso Museum, and 38 more were sold to the public, though none to customers in North America. The Pantera 90 Si was also the last iteration of the Pantera with production ending in 1992. Alejandro de Tomaso, the automaker’s namesake, suffered a stroke the following year, with one of his sons taking over. De Tomaso died in 2004 though thousands of Panteras continue to live on.

Click here for more photos of the De Tomaso Pantera 90 Si.

PIN IT

See Also

This New Blended-Wing Jetliner Was Simply Cleared for Check Flights