You can’t talk about De Tomaso without talking about Ford and, specifically, American Ford V8s. The domineering De Tomaso Pantera had them, as did the lovely Mangusta before it. So it’s only appropriate the stunningly retro De Tomaso P72 also follows suit with eight cylinders from Ford’s NASCAR partner.
Back when we first laid eyes on the P72 (on the Fourth of July, no less), we got to see it in close detail, noticed it had three pedals, but knew nothing about the number of gears or its powertrain. We just knew about De Tomaso’s sister company, Apollo’s, commitment to natural aspiration. Girl, same.
Today, De Tomaso announced the P72 would be powered by a supercharged, 5.0-liter V8 that will have a “linear power-curve reminiscent of the purity of natural aspiration,” according to a press release. Keen car nerds will already read “5.0-liter V8" and see F-O-R-D spelled out in their mind’s eye, but DeTomaso makes things extra clear. The engine comes from a technical collaboration between De Tomaso and Roush. Roush and Ford have historically worked very closely together, with Roush being the dominating force of Ford’s NASCAR engines, if not the main name in Ford’s racing engines altogether. The two collaborated on the V8 and V6 in both Ford GTs, and Roush also makes a whole slew of aftermarket parts for other Ford vehicles.
So, no natural aspiration. Sad. But it’s supercharged, which is still very ooh-rah American. De Tomaso says the targeted power output is over 700 horsepower with at least 608 lb-ft of torque from 91 octane fuel. It claims the engine will redline “in excess of 7,500 rpm.”
All of that will get hooked up to a De Tomaso six-speed manual transmission.
Currently, the company says the powertrain is being benchmarked, tested and validated for emissions regulations and durability for the U.S. and European markets.
But damn! A supercharged V8 mated to a six-speed manual. It’s like the 2004 Ford GT all over again.
Unfortunately, the P72 will be produced in extremely limited numbers. De Tomaso is only making 72 of them and they cost $846,000 each. I’ll take three.